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IATA Urges Saudi Arabia for More Financial Support to Aviation Sector

FILE PHOTO: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) logo is seen at the International Tourism Trade Fair ITB in Berlin, Germany, March 7, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
FILE PHOTO: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) logo is seen at the International Tourism Trade Fair ITB in Berlin, Germany, March 7, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
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IATA Urges Saudi Arabia for More Financial Support to Aviation Sector

FILE PHOTO: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) logo is seen at the International Tourism Trade Fair ITB in Berlin, Germany, March 7, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
FILE PHOTO: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) logo is seen at the International Tourism Trade Fair ITB in Berlin, Germany, March 7, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged the Saudi government for more financial support to its aviation sector, lauding it for introducing broad economic relief measures in excess of $32 billion in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saudi Arabia has “provided support for air transport by suspending the airport slot use rules for the summer season and extending licenses and certifications for crew, trainers and examiners,” IATA said in a statement on Wednesday.

It urged the Saudi government “to build on this and implement specific financial relief measures for aviation to ensure that the sector will be capable of driving the recovery.”

IATA said the government should consider direct financial support to passenger and cargo carriers, financial relief on airport and air traffic control (ATC) charges and taxes, in addition to reduction, waiver or deferral of government-imposed taxes and fees.

“Saudi Arabia has announced financial relief measures for sectors affected by COVID-19, but not specifically for aviation. Given the industry’s role in social and economic development as well as achieving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, it is important the government prioritizes aviation and provide urgent financial relief," said IATA Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East Muhammad Albakri.

“Without a viable air transport sector, we can expect a slow and painful economic recovery. Before the crisis, Saudi Arabia was moving at full speed and achieving tangible results in modernization, infrastructure development and economic growth,” said Albakri.

He added that fully supporting aviation would have a positive impact on the Kingdom’s economy after the pandemic is over.

IATA estimates that revenues generated by airlines in the Saudi market will fall by $7.2 billion in 2020, 35 percent below 2019 levels.

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Oil Prices Fall after Trump Hails 'Good' Talks with Iran

FILE PHOTO: A small tanker sails near an oil refinery, in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan March 17, 2026. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A small tanker sails near an oil refinery, in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan March 17, 2026. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
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Oil Prices Fall after Trump Hails 'Good' Talks with Iran

FILE PHOTO: A small tanker sails near an oil refinery, in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan March 17, 2026. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A small tanker sails near an oil refinery, in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan March 17, 2026. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said US and Iranian representatives had met for "very good" talks at the United Nations.

The international benchmark, Brent crude, and main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, dipped to $98.91 and $89.93 per barrel respectively in early Asian trade -- well below the symbolic $100 mark they have smashed repeatedly since the Middle Eat war broke out in February, AFP reported.

The three-hour meeting was "very good", "very productive" and "they have another one scheduled in the very near future", Trump told reporters as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump's announcement came just hours after he delivered a bellicose address to the UN in which he said he faced a "big decision" on whether to make a deal with Iran or "annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly".

Nearly seven months after US-Israeli strikes on Tehran triggered the conflict, the foes remain at an impasse, with Iran keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed and the United States persisting with a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

"The three-hour US-Iran meeting matters because it shifts the market from pure escalation pricing toward a genuine diplomatic process, even if a final deal still looks distant," said Stephen Innes at Quintex Intel.

Trump has pledged that oil would come down "as soon as" the United States wins the war.

The dip in oil prices came as the world's biggest crude exporter Saudi Arabia reportedly rebooted operations along its East-West Pipeline -- a crucial oil export route shut down by the conflict rocking the Middle East.

Riyadh said this month that drones launched from Iraq had forced the closure of the pipeline, which it had increasingly used to bypass the lockdown of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran.

The kingdom is aiming to resume exports later this week, Bloomberg quoted a source as saying.

Business

Euro Zone Yields Fall after Iran Raises Prospect of Hormuz Reopening

Euro banknotes (Reuters)
Euro banknotes (Reuters)
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Euro Zone Yields Fall after Iran Raises Prospect of Hormuz Reopening

Euro banknotes (Reuters)
Euro banknotes (Reuters)

Euro zone bond yields fell for a second straight day on Tuesday, hitting their lowest in almost two weeks after Iran raised the prospect of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington hinted it could restart talks with Tehran, pushing oil prices lower.

Germany's 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the bloc, fell 1 basis point to 3.44% after rising as much as 4 bps earlier in the session. It fell 7 bps on Monday as energy prices retreated.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the strait, which carried about a fifth of global energy supplies before the war, could reopen within seven days if the US also lifts its blockade of Iranian ports.

The official added that Iran's delegation to a UN meeting in New York this week has full authority to revive diplomacy over the conflict.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC's "Today" show that Washington was open to speaking with Tehran.

The dip in energy prices helped pull yields lower globally after a surge in recent weeks fuelled by expectations of further interest-rate hikes to combat energy-driven inflation. Traders are pricing in around 35 bps of additional European Central Bank tightening this year, down from 40 bps on Friday.

Germany's two-year bond yield, which is sensitive to interest-rate expectations, fell 1 bp to 3.19%, following a 6-bp drop on Monday.

Rabobank senior rates strategist Lyn Graham-Taylor said lower oil prices following the Iranian comments were weighing on bond yields.

Brent crude futures were last down 1% to $100 a barrel after earlier falling to $97.40, the lowest in two weeks.

Business

Libya's NOC Says Sharara Crude Pipeline Closure Losses at 130,000 bpd

General view of the Sharara oil field in Libya (Reuters)
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Libya's NOC Says Sharara Crude Pipeline Closure Losses at 130,000 bpd

General view of the Sharara oil field in Libya (Reuters)

Libya's National Oil Corporation said on Tuesday that the Sharara-Zawiya crude loading pipeline closure has led to daily losses of about 130,000 barrels per day, Reuters reported.

An armed military group closed valve seven on the Sharara crude pipeline to Zawiya port on Monday, resulting in a significant decline in production at the Sharara oilfield, the National Oil Corporation said in a statement.