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 Saudi Arabia Achieves Self-Sufficiency in Figs

Saudi Arabia Achieves Self-Sufficiency in Figs

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) declared on Sunday that the Kingdom has achieved total self-sufficiency in fig production, with…

Business ACWA Power’s Net Profit Reaches SAR927 Million in First Half of 2024

ACWA Power’s Net Profit Reaches SAR927 Million in First Half of 2024

Saudi-listed ACWA Power, the world’s largest private water desalination company, announced on Sunday its consolidated financial results for the six months…

Business Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly during his recent visit to Borg El Arab Airport in Alexandria (Ministry of Aviation)

Rumors on Selling Egypt’s Airports Spread on Social Media

Rumors spread on social media in Egypt amid claims that the country’s airports are being sold to foreign parties, prompting the cabinet to deny the reports on…

Ahmed Adli (Cairo)
Business A woman works at a factory in Accra, Ghana. (World Bank)

Egypt Seeking to Boost Africa’s Financial Resources from International Institutions

Egyptian Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said her country is currently working to boost the financial…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business FILE - A man walks past a tanker at a Chevron gas station in San Francisco, Oct. 23, 2023. (AP)

Chevron Earnings Slide

Chevron Corp on Friday posted sharply weaker second-quarter earnings and the oil major's CEO discounted the chance to close a $53 billion acquisition of Hess…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A sign for ‘Jobs’ is displayed outside a business in Los Angeles, California, USA, 02 August 2024. EPA/ALLISON DINNER

Global Stocks Plunge, Bond Prices Rally as US Data Spooks

Surprisingly weak US employment data on Friday stoked fears of a recession ahead, prompting investors to dump stocks and turn to safe-haven bonds, Reuters…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
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

Gold Jumps after Cooling US Jobs Report Boosts Rate Cut Hopes

Gold prices hit their highest in over two weeks on Friday as Treasury yields and the dollar declined after data showed US economy created fewer jobs than…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Libya's Tripoli view - File photo/AAWSAT AR

Libya's $70 bln Wealth Fund Sees Thaw in UN Asset Freeze by Year-end

The Libyan Investment Authority is expecting UN sign-off by the end of the year to actively manage its $70 billion in assets for the first time in more than a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE - This Nov. 6, 2013 file photo shows a Whiting Petroleum Co. pump jack pulling crude oil from the Bakken region of the Northern Plains near Bainville, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil Down $2 as Investors Digest Weak US Job Data

Oil prices slid by more than $2 on Friday, on track for a fourth successive weekly drop after data showed that the US economy added fewer jobs than expected in…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE PHOTO: A person shops at a Whole Foods grocery store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

UN: World Food Prices Ease Slightly in July

The United Nations world food price index eased slightly in July according to data released on Friday, with a decline in the index for cereals partially offset…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business SABIC’s technical center in Shanghai, China (company website)

Petrochemical Recovery Boosts Saudi SABIC’s Profits by 84.7%

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), one of the world’s biggest petrochemical companies, beat analysts’ forecasts in the second quarter, indicating a recovery…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business The risk of a resurgence in inflation and the July 4 election are seen as keeping the Bank of England from starting to cut rates at its Thursday meeting ( AFP)

Bank of England Rate Cut Boosts Comeback Factor for UK Markets

Big investors are growing more confident about a comeback for neglected UK assets, with the Bank of England's move to cut interest rates from a 16-year high,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih met with Egyptian Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Eng. Hassan El-Khatib. SPA

Saudi Arabia, Egypt Discuss Investment Opportunities

Saudi Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih has met in the Egyptian city of El Alamein with Egyptian Minister of Investment and Foreign…

Asharq Al Awsat (El Alamein)
Business The online joint ministerial monitoring committee meeting (JMMC) held on Thursday. Photo: OPEC on X

OPEC+ Sticks to Oil Policy

A meeting of top OPEC+ ministers has kept oil output policy unchanged including a plan to start unwinding one layer of output cuts from October, and repeated…

Asharq Al Awsat (Vienna)
Business Saudi Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid Al-Falih and Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel El-Wazir meet in Alamein. (SPA)

Saudi Investment Minister Discusses Boosting Cooperation with Egyptian Transport, Industry Minister

Saudi Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid Al-Falih and Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel El…

Business Saudi Wealth Fund Signs $50 bln of Deals with Chinese Financial Firms

Saudi Wealth Fund Signs $50 bln of Deals with Chinese Financial Firms

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF has signed six memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth a total of $50 billion with leading Chinese financial…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business GCC, Indonesia sign joint statement to launch free trade negotiations. (SPA)

GCC, Indonesia Sign Joint Statement to Launch Free Trade Negotiations

Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi met yesterday with Indonesian Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan in Jakarta, where they…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business This handout picture released by Iraq's Prime Minister's Media Office on August 1, 2024, shows him (C) looking on as BP CEO, Murray Auchincloss, (L) and Iraq's Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul Ghani al-Sawad, sign a memorandum of understanding to develop four oil fields in Kirkuk. (Photo by IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)

Iraq Signs Deal with BP to Develop Kirkuk Oil and Gas Fields

Iraq has signed a preliminary agreement with British energy group BP to develop the northern Kirkuk oil and gas fields, the Iraqi prime minister's office said…

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

Gold Scales 2-week High as Fed Signals Likely Sept Rate Cut

Gold prices hit a two-week high on Thursday as US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell opened the door to cutting interest rates as early as September. Spot…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The first round of free trade agreement negotiations between the GCC and Ankara (General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council)

Riyadh to Host Second Round of GCC-Türkiye Free Trade Negotiations

The second round of negotiations for a free trade agreement between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Türkiye is scheduled to be held in Riyadh before the…

Saeed Abdulrazek (Ankara)
Business A general view of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. (Reuters)

Saudi Budget: Non-Oil Revenues Highest Since End of 2020

Non-oil revenues in Saudi Arabia grew by 4 percent year-on-year during the second quarter of 2024, to reach SAR 140.6 billion ($73.3 billion), the highest…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Arabia, Chile explore latest mining technologies, investment opportunities. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia, Chile Explore Latest Mining Technologies, Investment Opportunities

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resource Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef explored investment opportunities in the production and processing of lithium,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A general view of a fruit and vegetable stand on a weekly market in Berlin, Germany, March 14, 2020. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Euro Zone Inflation Edges up in 'Difficult Print' for ECB

Euro zone inflation unexpectedly edged up in July, data showed on Wednesday, although a widely watched gauge of price growth in the services sector eased. …

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz/File Photo

Oil Rises on Risk of Broadening Middle East Conflict

Oilprices rose in early Asian trading on Thursday, extending strong gains in the previous session after the killing of a Hamas leader in Iran raised the threat…

Asharq Al Awsat