Business

World Food Prices Dip in October, but Remain Higher Than a Year Ago

Business A worker carries loaves of bread for sale at a bakery in the capital city of Cairo, Egypt November 4, 2026. (Reuters)

World Food Prices Dip in October, but Remain Higher Than a Year Ago

World food prices edged lower in October as weaker import demand contributed to monthly declines in cereal, dairy and meat prices, but were still nearly 6%…

Business Copper at the Aurubis copper smelting and refining plant in Hamburg, Germany. (Reuters)

Copper Falls, Set for Worst Week Since March on AI Rout

Copper dropped on Friday and was set for its biggest weekly drop in London since March, as a rout in technology stocks battered markets. Benchmark three…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Workers walk at Kalyon Karapinar solar power plant in Karapinar, Konya province, Türkiye, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP)

Emerging Economies Set to Match Advanced Nations’ Renewable Capacity Additions, IEA Says

Emerging ‌and developing economies outside China are expected to add as much new renewable energy capacity as advanced economies for the first time over…

Business Gold bracelets displayed in a shop window on Green Street, east London, UK, April 30, 2024. (AFP)

Gold Drops Over 1% on Higher Oil Prices; US Payrolls Data in Focus

Gold prices slipped on Friday as oil prices rebounded, fanning inflation worries and higher-for-longer interest rate expectations, while investors awaited key…

Business A pumpjack operates near Bakersfield, California, on Oct. 16. (AFP)

Oil Set for Sharp Weekly Drop but Middle East Supply Concerns Provide Floor

Oil prices are set for a sharp weekly drop on expectations of a de-escalation of the Iran war after US President Donald Trump's party suffered election losses,…


Business Traffic during rush hour in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo (AFP)

Egypt’s Tender for 20 Winter LNG Cargoes Fully Awarded

Egypt’s Tender for 20 Winter LNG Cargoes Fully Awarded Egypt's recent tender seeking 20 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to cover winter demand after a…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat

S&P Affirms Saudi Arabia’s 'A/A-1' Credit Rating, Outlook Improves to 'Positive'

Standard & Poor's (S&P) affirmed Saudi Arabia's credit rating in local and foreign currency at "A/A-1" with an improvement in outlook from "stable" to …

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Commuters ride an escalator at a subway station during the morning rush hour in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP)

China Approves Plan to Raise Retirement Age from January 2025 

China's top legislative body has approved a proposal to raise the country's retirement age, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday, accelerating an…

Business FILE PHOTO: A saleswoman displays a gold necklace inside a jewellery showroom on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold buying festival, in Kolkata, India, May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File Photo/File Photo

Gold Rallies to Record High on US Rate Cut Optimism

Gold prices soared to an all-time high on Friday as the dollar weakened amid prospects of super-sized reduction in US interest rates next week, while palladium…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump motions while attending the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP)

Trump Says He Will End All Taxes on Overtime if Elected 

Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday that he will end all taxes on overtime pay as part of a wider tax cut package, if he is…

Business European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde (AFP)

European Central Bank Cuts Interest Rates Amid Sluggish Economic Growth, Cooling Inflation

The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday has cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point to 3.5% in response to falling Eurozone inflation and signs…

Asharq Al Awsat (Frankfurt)
Business The summit included panel discussions and workshops featuring experts from various sectors and global companies specialized in AI applications. SPA

SDAIA Concludes GAIN Summit in Riyadh with Local, Int’l Agreements

The third edition of the Global AI Summit (GAIN Summit), organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) from September 10 to 12 at…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business The third Global AI Summit, which concluded on Thursday in Riyadh. Asharq Al-Awsat

Progress in Building World's Largest Inferencing Data Center in Saudi Arabia

Aramco Digital, the digital and technology subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, and Groq, a leader in AI inference and creator of the Language Processing Unit (LPU),…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi

GCC Secretary General: Recommendations of Central Bank Governors Enhance Integration

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said Thursday that the outcomes and recommendations of the latest meeting of the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Doha)
Business Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

Gold Hits All-time High as Fed Rate-cut Hopes Bolster Appeal

Gold prices rose more than 1% to hit a record high on Thursday, helped by expectations of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week after US data…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Panel discussion at the Global AI Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Global Firms to Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Arabia Speeds Up AI Progress

Global tech companies at the third Global AI Summit in Riyadh emphasized Saudi Arabia’s rapid progress in artificial intelligence, noting the Kingdom’s…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business China's national flags flutter during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Adek Berry/Pool Photo via AP)

China Says Hopes Europe Can Meet it Half-way, Promote Stable Economic Ties

China hopes Europe can meet it half-way and promote healthy and stable economic and trade ties, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said on…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE PHOTO: A view of the Johan Sverdrup oilfield in the North Sea, January 7, 2020. Carina Johansen/NTB Scanpix/via REUTERS

Oil Prices Up Over 1% on US Hurricane Impact Concerns

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Thursday, spurred by concerns of Hurricane Francine impacting output in the US, the world's biggest crude producer, though…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The sun rises against high-rise buildings in Beijing on September 6, 2024. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)

Canada Mulls Surtax on Chinese Critical Mineral Products, Batteries, Solar Products

Canada has said it was considering a potential surtax on Chinese critical mineral products, batteries and parts, solar products, and semiconductors, a move…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi Aramco Announces New Agreements With Rongsheng and Hengli

Saudi Aramco Announces New Agreements With Rongsheng and Hengli

Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, has announced agreements with key Chinese partners during a visit to the Kingdom…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE PHOTO: A general view shows Libya's El Sharara oilfield December 3, 2014. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny/File Photo

Libya Oil Exports Plunge as NOC Cancels Cargoes due to Crisis

Libyan oil exports fell around 81% last week, Kpler data showed, as the National Oil Corporation cancelled cargoes amid a crisis over control of Libya's…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A view shows an oil pump jack outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia June 4, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Oil Recovers after Slide as US Inventory Drop

Oil climbed more than 1% on Wednesday, paring some of the previous day's losses, as a drop in US crude inventories and concern about Hurricane Francine…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Gold bullion displayed in a store in the German city of Pforzheim (dpa)

Gold Edges Higher as US Inflation Data Looms

Gold prices inched higher on Wednesday as the dollar eased, with traders' attention turning to key US inflation data that may influence the Federal Reserve's…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business People walk on a pedestrian bridge during the sunset in city center of Kyiv, Ukraine, September 9, 2024. (AP)

IMF, Ukraine Reach Deal That Would Give It Access to Some $1.1 Bln 

The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday it had reached a preliminary agreement with Ukraine that would give the war-torn country access to about $1.1…

Business Discussions on Tuesday focused on utilizing AI to support and accelerate development programs and to create ideal opportunities for improving social life and its quality.  (SPA)

GAIN Summit Showcases International Experiences in Governing AI Usage 

The first day of the third Global Artificial Intelligence Summit (GAIN) in Riyadh featured ministers responsible for technology and communications sectors,…

Business Dr. Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, the supervisor of the capacity-building sector at the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the GAIN Summit. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Al-Ghamdi to Asharq Al-Awsat: SDAIA Adopts 3 Pillars for Building AI Capabilities

Dr. Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, the supervisor of the capacity-building sector at the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), said the Authority is…

Ayat Nur (Riyadh)
Business The project is a collaboration between the General Directorate of Passports, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), and NEOM. (SPA)

Saudi Ministry of Interior Launches Smart Gates at NEOM Bay Airport 

The Saudi Ministry of Interior launched on Tuesday the Smart Gates Project today at NEOM Bay Airport. The project is a collaboration between the General…

Business The third edition of the Global AI Summit (GAIN Summit), organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)

GAIN Summit Kicks off in Riyadh Under Patronage of Saudi Crown Prince

The third edition of the Global AI Summit (GAIN Summit), organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), kicked off in Riyadh on…

Business The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) data

GASTAT: Saudi Industrial Production Index Rose 1.6% in July

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) in Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that Industrial Production Index (IPI) rose by 1.6% in July this year compared to…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)