Business

US Economy Expanded at Solid 2.1% Pace in January-March, Government Says

Business President Donald Trump stands on stage after speaking at the opening of the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

US Economy Expanded at Solid 2.1% Pace in January-March, Government Says

The US economy expanded at a solid and unexpected 2.1% annual pace from January through March, the Commerce Department reported Thursday in its final estimate…

Asharq Al Awsat (Washington)
Business A handout picture released by Iraq's Prime Minister's Press Office on January 2, 2025, shows a partial view of the oil refinery of Baiji north of Baghdad, during the inauguration ceremony of the fourth and fifth units. (Iraq's Prime Minister's Press Office / AFP)

Baghdad Urges OPEC to Raise Iraq's Production Quota

Baghdad has urged OPEC to increase Iraq's oil production quota, taking into account the damage done to its industry by its history of conflicts and the recent…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business General view of part of Cairo (Reuters)

Egypt Overhauls Nitrogen Fertilizer Export Levy, Exempts High-grade Ammonium Nitrate

Egypt has revamped its export tax regime for nitrogen fertilizers, replacing a fixed export tax with a 10% ad valorem duty on all nitrogenous fertilizer…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A worker displays gold bullion bar at the ABC Refinery in Sydney - AFP

Gold Lingers Near 7-month Low as Fed Hike Bets Boost Dollar

Gold fell for a third straight session on Thursday, lingering near a more than seven-month low it had reached in the previous session, as expectations of US…

Business A drilling rig operates near a crude oil reserve in the Permian Basin oil field in Texas, USA (Reuters)

Oil Falls to Pre-war Levels on Rising Middle East Supply

Oil prices fell on Thursday to levels last seen before the start of the Iran war as expectations of rising supply from the Middle East outweighed demand…

Asharq Al Awsat

Business Gold items are displayed at a jewellery shop in downtown Kuwait City on June 6, 2026. (AFP)

China’s Central Bank Extends Gold Buying Spree for 19th Month in May

China's central bank increased up its gold reserves for a 19th month in May, data from the People's Bank of China showed on Sunday. The country's gold…

Business A view shows the logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) outside its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, May 28, 2024. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Phot

What is Expected from Today's OPEC+ Major Producers Meeting?

All eyes turn Sunday to a series of intensive and simultaneous ministerial meetings of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Kamil Al-Awadhi, Regional Vice President of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for Africa and the Middle East, speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

IATA to Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Airlines Lead Gulf Aviation Resilience in Absorbing Shocks

Despite Gulf airlines incurring billions of dollars in losses due to recent geopolitical tensions, Saudi carriers have demonstrated exceptional resilience and…

Abeer Hommadi (Rio de Janeiro)
Business The headquarters of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) in California. (AFP)

Google to Pay Musk $920 Million a Month for AI Computing Capacity

SpaceX on Friday signed a blockbuster cloud computing agreement under which Google will pay the Elon Musk-founded rocket company $920 million per month for…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Igor Sechin, Chief Executive Officer of Rosneft, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, June 5, 2026 (Reuters).

Rosneft: US Companies Benefit from Strait of Hormuz Closure

Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin said on Saturday that US energy companies were the main beneficiaries of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz but warned…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The arrival of Riyadh Air's two aircraft marks a historic milestone in the company's journey towards launching its flights (SPA)

First Two of Riyadh Air’s Custom-Built 787-9 Dreamliners Arrive in Saudi Arabia

Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new national carrier and a company wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has announced the arrival of its first two…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Egypt’s Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh speaks during an interview in London, Britain June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Marc Jones

Egypt to Cut Red Tape for Business and List up to Four State Firms

Egypt will step up efforts to cut red tape to spur on local businesses and it expects to list as many as four state-owned firms on the stock exchange over the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Oil pumpjacks operating in a farmer’s field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, November 26, 2025. (Reuters)

Oil Edges Lower after Oman Says Mina al Fahal Operations Proceeding Normally

Oil prices edged lower after Oman said operations at Mina al Fahal port were proceeding normally, following a Reuters report that oil loadings had been…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A shopper buys vegetables with her son at a street market in Urcos, Peru, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

FAO: World Food Prices Slip in May, Still Near Three-year High

World food prices slipped in May from a revised April level, with vegetable oil prices falling for the first time this year while cereals and sugar jumped, the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Workers continue putting the finishing touches on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 04, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)

US Employers Likely Added 105,000 Jobs in May with Labor Market Stable Despite Costly Iran War

The American job market has climbed out of a rut. But it's still trudging along tepidly, frustrating young people and others out of work. The Labor…

Business FILE PHOTO: A money changer holds Turkish lira and US dollar banknotes at a currency exchange office in Ankara, Türkiye December 16, 2021. REUTERS/Cagla Gurdogan/File Photo

Turkish Monthly Inflation at 1.71% in May, Exceeding Forecasts

Turkish consumer price inflation stood at 1.71% month-on-month in May, while the annual figure climbed to 32.61%, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Russia's economy is in its trickiest spot since the start of the war in 2022. Ramil Sitdikov / POOL/AFP

Putin to Confront Weak Economy at 'Russian Davos', under Threat of Ukrainian Drones

Russia's Vladimir Putin will address a flagship investment forum in Saint Petersburg on Friday, as the war in Ukraine drags the economy into stagnation and…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Seoul's Kospi, which has hit multiple records this year as it led Asian markets higher, tumbled Friday. Jung Yeon-je/ AFP

Asian Stocks Take another Hit from AI, Mideast Worries

Asian equities went into reverse Friday on continued worries about the AI trade after disappointing forecasts from chip titan Broadcom, while investors were…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A banner advertising new houses for sale a seen on a new housing development under construction in Partington, Britain June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Phil Noble

UK House Prices Fall Unexpectedly as Market Feels Iran War Impact

British house prices unexpectedly fell in May, according to data from mortgage lender Halifax on Friday, which represented the latest sign of a cooling in the…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg on June 4, 2026. (Photo by Olga MALTSEVA / AFP)

Saudi Energy Minister Says Kingdom Remains Reliable, Flexible Supplier

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman seized the spotlight at a high-level dialogue session held during the 2026 St. Petersburg International…

Asharq Al Awsat (St. Petersburg )
Business OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg on June 4, 2026. (Photo by Olga MALTSEVA / AFP)

OPEC Secretary General: Oil Demand to Remain Robust, No Change to Estimates

OPEC expects robust oil demand growth and is not changing its estimates, Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said on Thursday at the St. Petersburg…

Asharq Al Awsat (St. Petersburg)
Business Headquarters of the Central Bank of Egypt in downtown Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egypt Plans to List More State-owned Companies, Replace In-kind Subsidies with Cash

Egypt aims to list four to five state-owned companies on the Cairo stock exchange before the end of the year as part of its state asset sales strategy, Prime…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Venue of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (the Forum)

St. Petersburg Forum Brings Together Energy Leaders to Discuss Hormuz Security, Future of Global Markets

Global energy markets will turn their attention on Friday to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, where a high-level panel discussion titled …

Asharq Al Awsat
Business 28 May 2026, Syria, Jobar: Syrians play in an Eid al-Adha amusement park in a devastated area amid the completely destroyed Jobar neighborhood on the outskirts of Damascus during the second day of the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha. Photo: Moawia Atrash/dpa

New Syria Defines Its Economic Identity: ‘Partnership’ Replaces Privatization in Recovery Plan

Syria has settled the debate over the identity of its new financial and investment system, adopting a model of “strategic partnership” between the public and…

Muwafaq Mohammed
Business Russia’s Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, during a session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF)

Russian Economy Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Russia is a Reliable Partner for Saudi Arabia

Russia’s Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov affirmed his country’s satisfaction with the level of development in its strategic relations with…

Raed Jaber (Moscow)
Business The Jafura field (Aramco)

South Korea's KEPCO Wins Saudi Jafurah Power Project

Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) said it had won a contract to build and operate the second phase of a cogeneration power plant at Saudi Arabia's Jafurah…

Asharq Al Awsat (Seoul)
Business A minibus moves along a main road underneath new Cairo Monorail track as a train moves above in the Fifth Settlement, a neighborhood of the New Cairo suburb of Cairo, on May 22, 2026. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)

Egypt Says Close to Issuing $500 Million Japan Samurai Bond

Egypt is finalizing plans for its first yen-denominated bond sale in three years, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told Reuters on a trip to Japan on Thursday. …

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows an offshore oil platform in Guanabara Bay in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, March 18, 2026.  REUTERS/Pilar Olivares/File Photo

Oil Falls as Lebanon and Israel Agree on a Ceasefire

Oil prices fell on Thursday as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon boosted hopes for a broader agreement to end the US-Israeli war with Iran that could…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The Saudi capital, Riyadh (Reuters)

IMF Praises Saudi Economy’s Resilience

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) affirmed that the Saudi economy has demonstrated high resilience in the face of regional geopolitical tensions that have…

Asharq Al Awsat (Washington)