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 FILE PHOTO: IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during an interview during a G20 Financial Summit, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, February 27, 2024. REUTERS/Carla Carniel/File Photo

Georgieva Faces Five Challenges in Second IMF Term

European countries have thrown their support behind Kristalina Georgieva, the current head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for another five-year term…

Hala Saghbini (Riyadh)
Business Farmers in a rice field in the Egyptian Beheira Governorate (Reuters)

Egypt: Interest Rates Threaten Financing Initiatives for Agricultural, Industrial Sectors

Low-interest financing initiatives are one of the Egyptian government’s tools to support the industrial and agricultural sectors, but the recent rise in…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Chancellor Scholz will have to balance encouraging words on economic cooperation with the EU's strident message accusing China of unfair subsidies © JOHN THYS / AFP/File

Macron and Scholz Call for Re-balancing China Trade

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on Friday for a "re-balancing" of trade relations between Europe and China on the eve…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business CEO of Google Cloud Thomas Kurian (Google)

Google Cloud Boasts Consistent Service Across Region, US

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the “Google Cloud Next ‘24” event in Las Vegas, affirmed that Google Cloud’s…

Nassim Ramadan (Las Vegas)
Business The building of the European Central Bank (ECB) appears on the horizon during sunset in Frankfurt, Germany, December 2, 2023. REUTERS

ECB Poll: Economists Confident Euro Zone Inflation Will Fall to 2%

Economists are sticking to their view that inflation in the euro zone will fall to 2% and stay there, a European Central Bank poll showed on Friday, in…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE PHOTO: Paramilitary police officers remove snow from a road following snowfall in Beijing, China February 21, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo

China’s Government: Natural Disasters Cost $3.3 Billion in First Quarter

Floods, droughts, an earthquake and freezing conditions in China caused direct economic losses of 23.76 billion yuan ($3.28 billion) in the first quarter, the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beijing)
Business Common currency dropped nearly 1% to $1.0631 on Friday, breaching the previous low of the year set in February  - Reuters

Euro Reaches Five-Month Low

The euro fell to its lowest level this year as the European Central Bank looks set to cut interest rates before the Federal Reserve, fueling market discussion…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business All three major indexes fell more than 1%, and registered losses on the week - Reuters

Stocks Suffer Sharpest Weekly Decline during 2024

Stocks slumped to a second consecutive weekly loss on Friday, as intensifying tension in the Middle East prompted caution among investors. All three major…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business World Bank chief Ajay Banga leaves after attending the G20 Finance Ministers, Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) and Finance & Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) meetings, at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on July 17, 2023. (AFP)

World Bank Chief Pushes Internal Reforms at Spring Meetings

World Bank President Ajay Banga said on Friday he plans to highlight a range of process improvements next week to speed up the development lender's loan…

Business  A boy checks the calendula flowers, usually exported and used for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and traditional medicine, during the annual calendula flower harvest, at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. (Reuters)

EU Pledges Egypt 1 Billion Euros in Financial Aid

The EU on Friday said it would provide Egypt with 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) in short-term financial aid to help stabilize the country's economy. Egypt…

Business Copper has risen nearly 10 per cent since the start of 2024 and hit a 15-month high of $9,523 per metric tonne on Tuesday. (Photo by Reuters)

Industrial Metal Prices Jump

Industrial metals including copper and zinc have outperformed global stocks this year as signs of a revival in demand from Chinese manufacturers add to…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE PHOTO: The building of the European Central Bank (ECB) is seen amid a fog in Frankfurt, Germany December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo

ECB Holds Rates at Record Highs, Signals Upcoming Cut

The European Central Bank kept interest rates at record highs on Thursday but sent an even clearer signal that it may be preparing to cut them as euro zone…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A pedestrian walks on an overpass past car traffic in Beijing, China January 12, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo

China's Q1 GDP Growth Set to Slow to 4.6%, Keeps Pressure for More Stimulus

China's economy likely grew 4.6% in the first quarter from a year earlier - the slowest in a year despite tentative signs of steadying, a Reuters poll showed…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Organization of the Petroleoum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is seen at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna, Austria June 19, 2018.   REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

OPEC Sees Robust Summer Oil Demand

OPEC predicted robust fuel use in the summer months on Thursday and stuck to its forecast for relatively strong growth in global oil demand in 2024. The…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA)

GACA to Organize Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh Next Month

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) is scheduled to organize the third edition of the Future Aviation Forum 2024 (FAF 2024) on May 20-22…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business FILED - 16 June 2023, Luxembourg: Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a press conference at the European Convention Center in Luxembourg. Photo: -/European Council/dpa

IMF Chief Sees Inflation Dropping Further in 2024

Inflation is easing faster than expected but has not been fully defeated, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday, urging…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Workers wait for transport outside a construction site in Beijing, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

EU Updates its Report on China’s Distortions in Economy

The European Commission has updated its report on state-led distortions in the Chinese economy, adding new sectors and potentially opening the door to anti…

Asharq Al Awsat (Brussels ) Asharq Al Awsat (Beijing)
Business A view of an advertising billboard for the upcoming annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, in Marrakech, following last month's deadly earthquake, Morocco October 1, 2023. REUTERS

Shocks in G20 Emerging Economies Hit Rich-World Growth, IMF Says

Domestic shocks in emerging economies in the Group of Twenty (G20) are increasingly impacting growth in the rich world, said a report released by the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Washington)
Business A pump jack lifts oil out of a well during a sandstorm in Midland, Texas, US, April 13, 2018. Picture taken April 13, 2018. (Reuters)

Oil Extends Gains on Escalation in Middle East Tensions

Oil prices extended gains on Thursday, after rising a dollar a barrel in the prior session, as investors braced for a worsening of the Middle East crisis,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE PHOTO: A logo of Taiwanse chip giant TSMC can be seen in Tainan, Taiwan December 29, 2022.REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo

TSMC's Q1 Revenue Rise Beats Market Expectations on AI Boom

Taiwan chipmaker TSMC reported a 16.5% rise in first-quarter revenue on Wednesday, beating market expectations and at the high end of the company's own…

Asharq Al Awsat (Taipei)
Business FILED - 22 May 2023, Berlin: A Bitcoin coin lies on a screen showing the Bitcoin - US dollar exchange rate. Photo: Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/dpa

Hong Kong Set to Approve its First Spot Bitcoin ETFs in April

Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds could be launched in Hong Kong this month with the first approvals likely to be announced next week, two people familiar…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business Bahrain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) registered an annual increase of 2.4 percent in 2023. Asharq Al-Awsat

Bahrain's Economy Achieves Growth of 2.4%

Bahrain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) registered an annual increase of 2.4 percent in 2023 to hit 13.66 billion dinars ($36.24 billion), official data showed…

Asharq Al Awsat (Manama)
Business Morgan Stanley raised its Brent crude oil price forecast for the third quarter of this year by $4 per barrel to $94. Reuters

Morgan Stanley Lifts Q3 Brent Crude Oil Forecast on Geopolitical Risk

Morgan Stanley has raised its Brent crude oil price forecast for the third quarter of this year by $4 per barrel to $94, citing geopolitical risks. "That the…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business People holding umbrellas walk past a gold advertisement on a rainy day in Beijing on April 10, 2024. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)

Fitch Downgrades Outlook on China to Negative on Economic Growth Risks

Ratings agency Fitch revised its outlook on China's sovereign credit rating to negative on Tuesday, citing risks to public finances as the economy faced…

Asharq Al Awsat