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 Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati heads a cabinet meeting, at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

EU Delegation: Lebanon Has Made ‘Only Limited Progress’ on Reforms

The Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon said Friday that the country has made “only limited progress” since April 2022 when it agreed on a program of…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Business Women shop at a local market in Istanbul, Türkiye January 12, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

World Food Price Index Rebounds From Three-Year Low

The United Nations food agency's world price index rebounded in March from a three-year low, boosted by increases for vegetable oils, meat and dairy products. …

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The beta launch enables selected users to upgrade their accounts from an stc pay digital wallet to an STC Bank account. stc pay website

stc pay Gets SAMA Approval for Transition to STC Bank

The Kingdom’s leading mobile wallet, stc pay, has been given formal approval by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) to move to the next phase of its transformation…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Thursday's figures showed that services activity growth in March was slightly weaker than first thought, revised down to a four-month low of 53.1 from an initial reading of 53.4. Reuters

UK on Track to Exit Recession, PMI Data Shows

Britain's economy looks on track to exit recession when official first-quarter growth data is next published, despite a slowdown in services activity last…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business FILE PHOTO: A man counts Indian currency notes inside a shop in Mumbai, India, August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

US Says it Has Not Asked India to Cut Russian Oil Purchases

The United States has not asked India to cut Russian oil imports as the goal of sanctions and the G7-imposed $60 per barrel price cap is to have stable global…

Asharq Al Awsat (New Delhi)
Business US Treasury chief Janet Yellen (C) and Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns (L) attend a roundtable with business leaders in Guangzhou. Pedro Pardo / AFP

Yellen in China Calls for 'Level Playing Field' for US Firms

US Treasury Chief Janet Yellen called on Friday for a "level playing field" between American and Chinese companies, telling officials during a visit to…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The Saudi Business Center facilitates the procedures for starting, conducting, and terminating economic businesses, as well as providing all related services. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Business Expansion in Saudi Market Reflected in Issuance of More than 1.4 Million Commercial Registers

The number of existing commercial registrations in Saudi Arabia now exceeds 1.4 million after it achieved a 59 percent jump during the first quarter of 2024 by…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)
Business Operating conditions in the non-oil private sector in Saudi Arabia showed a strong improvement by the end of the first quarter. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s Non-Oil Commercial Activity Rebounds to Highest Level in 6 Months

Non-oil trade activity rebounded in Saudi Arabia in March, supported by strong demand and output accelerating to a six-month high. Operating conditions in…

Business US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a visit to solar cell company Suniva in Norcross, Georgia, on March 27, 2024. (AFP)

US Treasury Secretary Heads to China to Talk Trade, Anti-Money Laundering and Chinese ‘Overproduction’ 

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is headed to a China determined to avoid open conflict with the United States, yet the world's two largest economies still…

Business FILE PHOTO: The full moon rises in the background over an oil rig at the Kashagan offshore oil field in the Caspian sea in western Kazakhstan August 21, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Oil Prices Rise on Concerns of Lower Supply, Signs of US Economic Growth

Oil prices rose on Thursday on concerns of lower supply as major producers are keeping output cuts in place and on signs of stronger economic growth in the US,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is seen at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna, Austria June 19, 2018. (Reuters)

OPEC+ Keeps Output Policy Steady as Oil Nears $90 a Barrel

A meeting of senior OPEC+ ministers kept oil output policy unchanged and pressed some countries to increase compliance with output cuts, a decision that…

Business Iraq spends approximately $25 billion annually on primary energy subsidies, with around $6 billion of that going towards importing Iranian gas (AFP)

Iraq Expected to Achieve Gas Self-Sufficiency in Coming Years

Iraq has inked a fresh agreement with Iran to import gas for electricity generation, sparking criticism over its economic vulnerability. However, officials…

Fadhel al-Nashmi (Baghdad)
Business The number of “Mada” card transactions online has risen to its highest levels since the service was introduced (SPA)

Saudi Individual E-Payments Capture 70% of Transactions

Saudi Arabia has seen a big rise in e-payments by individuals, making up 70% of total individual transactions in 2023, up from 62% in 2022—a 13% increase. …

Asharq Al Awsat
Business flynas is moving ahead in its ambitious plan for growth, expansion, and increasing the fleet size - AFP

flynas Takes Delivery of 50th Jetliner Out of Order for 120 Airbus A320neo

flynas, the Saudi air carrier and the leading low-cost airline in the Middle East and the world, celebrated taking delivery of the 50th airplane out of a large…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold 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

Gold Smashes Record Highs Again

Gold prices extended a record run on Wednesday as concerns of inflationary pressures boosted demand for bullion as a hedge, with traders shrugging off doubts…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The OPEC logo. Reuters

Sources: OPEC+ Unlikely to Change Output Policy at Meeting

An OPEC+ ministerial panel is unlikely to recommend any oil output policy changes at a meeting on Wednesday, five OPEC+ sources told Reuters, as oil prices hit…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business Saudi Aramco awarded engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts worth $7.7 billion for a major expansion of its Fadhili Gas Plant in the Eastern Province. (SPA)

Aramco Awards Contracts Worth $7.7 Bln to Add 1.5 BSCFD of Raw Gas to Fadhili Gas Plant

Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, awarded on Tuesday engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC)…

Business Saudi Ports Authority, SAR Sign Agreement to Boost Maritime, Rail Connectivity

Saudi Ports Authority, SAR Sign Agreement to Boost Maritime, Rail Connectivity

The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) and the Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) inked an agreement to bolster maritime and rail transportation connectivity, reported…

Business JMN partners, Jesper Schertiger (left) and Robin Shelly, at the Saudi Ministry of Investment (Asharq Al-Awsat)

British Firm JMN Gears Up for Riyadh HQ Launch

British firm “Jet Media Network” (JMN) plans to set up its main office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, capitalizing on the increasing interest in investing in new…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
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 Hovers Below Record Peak as US Dollar, Yields Firm after Upbeat Data

Gold prices on Tuesday hovered below a record high hit in the previous session, as the dollar and Treasury yields held firm after strong US data flagged doubts…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The signing ceremony of the joint venture between Saudi Arabia’s SITE and South Korea’s AhnLab (Supplied)

Saudi SITE Acquires 10% Stake in South Korea’s AhnLab

AhnLab, a leading cybersecurity company based in South Korea, has announced its partnership with the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE), a security…

Asharq Al Awsat (Seoul )
Business One of the job fairs that bring together companies with job seekers in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Kingdom Invests $2.3 Bn to Boost Private Sector Saudi Employment

Saudi Arabia’s Human Resources Development Fund invested around SAR 8.7 billion ($2.3 billion) last year in programs for training, counseling, and empowering…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)
Business File photo: An oil pumpjack in a field on March 24, 2024 in Grandfalls, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP

Oil Gains on Expectations for Higher Demand and as Middle East Concerns Rise

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, underpinned by signs that demand may improve China and the US, the world's biggest oil consuming nations, and growing concerns of a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A calculator next to US dollar banknotes (Reuters)

Dollar Inflows Surge to Egypt Amid Calls for Better Management

Egypt’s economy recently got a big boost from positive events, like the “Ras al-Hikma” deal in February and currency changes in March. However, challenges…

Sabri Najeh (Cairo)