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 A man walks in front of the new headquarters of Central Bank of Egypt, at the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt August 6, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Egypt's Inflation Slows in July

Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation slid to 25.7% in July from 27.5% in June, a rate of decline faster than analysts had forecast, the country's…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Saudi Industry Ministry Tables Seven New Mining Opportunities

Saudi Industry Ministry Tables Seven New Mining Opportunities

The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources opened o Wednesday the bidding for seven new exploration licenses. According to the ministry, the total…

Business Ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold are placed in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/FILE PHOTO Purchase Licensing Rights

Gold Firms as US Rate-cut Optimism, Geopolitical Risks Lend Support

Gold prices drifted higher on Wednesday driven by safe-haven demand and rising bets that the US Federal Reserve might reduce interest rates as early as…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Garment factory workers break for lunch, in Dhaka on August 7, 2024 (AFP)

Bangladesh Garment Factories Reopen after Sheikh Hasina’s Flight

Garment factories in Bangladesh, forecast to account for 90% of the country's exports, reopened on Wednesday hoping to swiftly resume full operations after…

Business  Egypt’s Finance Minister, Ahmed Kouchouk, speaks during the news conference. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egypt Reviews Public Spending Priorities to Contain Impact of Economic Reforms

Egypt’s Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk said on Tuesday the ministry was working to re-arrange priorities in order to contain the impact of economic reforms. …

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business The Saudi capital, Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi FDI Balance Records 6.1% Growth in 1st Quarter of 2024

The foreign direct investment (FDI) balance in Saudi Arabia recorded a growth of 6.1 percent by the end of the first quarter of 2024, compared to the same…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business The deal shrinks Sumitomo Chemical's stake in the joint venture to 15% while increasing Aramco's share to 60%. AFP

Aramco to Buy Stake in JV Petro Rabigh from Sumitomo Chem

Saudi Aramco will buy from Japan's Sumitomo Chemical a 22.5% stake in their petrochemical joint venture Petro Rabigh for $702 million, the companies said on…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business FILE PHOTO: A view of the sign for A.P. Moller-Maersk outside their offices in Copenhagen, Denmark, January 25, 2024. REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo

Maersk Sees Sustained Global Demand, but at Slower Pace

Shipping company Maersk on Wednesday said the global demand for container transport was expected to continue to grow in the next few quarters albeit at a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi Arabia’s SABIC signs a potential investment agreement with the Fujian government (SABIC website)

Saudi Arabia’s SABIC to Build Engineering Thermoplastics Compounding Plant in China

Saudi Arabia’s SABIC, a global leader in diversified chemicals, signed a potential investment agreement with the Fujian government to build an engineering…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Oracle is looking to capitalize on the growing demand for cloud and AI to launch three public could regions in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Oracle Opens 2nd Public Cloud Region in Saudi Arabia to Meet Growing Demand for AI

Oracle on Tuesday announced the opening of its second public cloud region in Saudi Arabia to meet the rapidly growing demand for its AI and cloud services. …

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) rose 2.1 percent. (Reuters)

Gulf Markets Rebound with Federal Reserve Allaying Investor Fears

Most Gulf stock markets advanced on Tuesday after Federal Reserve officials made comments easing investor jitters, following a global sell-off on fears of a…

Asharq Al Awsat (Dubai)
Business Eng. Sultan Al-Deghaither (Asharq Al-Awsat)

CEO of Zain Saudi Arabia Sultan Al-Deghaither Passes Away

The CEO of Zain Saudi Arabia, Eng. Sultan Al-Deghaither, passed away on Monday, leaving behind an unforgettable legacy in the sector and the development of the…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)
Business The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant

Oil Edges Lower on Surprise Build in US Crude, Gasoline Stocks

Oil prices slipped in early Asian trading on Wednesday following a brief rebound in the previous session after industry data showed an unexpected build in US…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A view shows el Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. (Reuters)

Aramco CEO Expects Demand Growth of 1.6-2 mln bpd in Second Half

Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser said on Tuesday he expected oil demand growth of between 1.6 and 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in the second half of…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A view shows el Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. (Reuters)

Libya's NOC to Gradually Reduce Sharara Oil Field Production due to Protests

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) will start to gradually decrease production at the Sharara oil field, it said in a statement on Tuesday, citing force…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The Saudi capital, Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia Recycles 100,000 Electronic Devices to Limit Environmental Impact

Saudi Arabia was able to recycle more than 100,000 electronic devices to reduce their environmental damage as part of an effort to build a sustainable digital…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)
Business An investor passes in front of a screen displaying information on the Saudi stock market (Tadawul) in Riyadh. (Reuters)

Recession Fears in US Drag Arab Markets into Another Day of Losses

Fears of recession in the American economy, the decline in global markets - from stocks to oil to cryptocurrencies – led to a wave of sharp losses in Middle…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Specialist Dilip Patel works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling as fear about a slowing US economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Most Base Metals Fall as US Recession Jitters Dampen Sentiment

Prices of most industrial metals dropped on Tuesday, weighed down by bleak demand outlook following US data that sparked fears of a possible recession in the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business People attend a job fair organized by the Human Resources Development Fund. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia Leads G20 with Booming Job Market Performance

Saudi Arabia has made significant strides in increasing employment and modernizing work patterns in recent years. As a result, the Kingdom led the G20 in…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)
Business A souvenir bitcoin token is seen pictured with a 100 ruble bill in Moscow on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)

Bitcoin, Ether Hit multi-month Lows as Recession Worries Take Hold

Bitcoin and ether plunged on Monday to multi-month lows as worries over a possible US recession in the wake of soft data gripped financial markets and…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Marked ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold are placed in a cart at the Krastsvetmet non-ferrous metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo

Safe-haven Gold Firms on US Recession Fears, Rate-cut Bets

Gold prices drifted higher on Monday, aided by worries that the United States could be headed for a recession and rising bets that the Federal Reserve will…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A man pumps gas into a vehicle at a petrol station on October 2, 2023 in Alhambra, California. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

Oil Falls as US Recession Fears Offset Mideast Tensions

Oil prices fell on Monday as fears of a recession in the United States, the world's top oil consumer, offset concerns that escalating tensions in the Middle…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A handout image shows the RSS Supreme's rigid-hulled inflatable boat in the vicinity of the burning vessels following a fire on two oil tankers about 55 km northeast of the Singaporean island of Pedra Branca, July 19, 2024. Reuters

Smuggling of Iranian Oil Raises Insurance Complications Amid Western Sanctions

A collision between two tankers off Singapore in July raises questions over insurance claims, as one of the vessels previously shipped Iranian oil, potentially…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business The flag of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Praises Fruitful Cooperation with Bahrain to Stimulate National Industries

The Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and Chairman of the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority, Bandar Alkhorayef, praised Bahrain…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)