عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Saudi Companies Suspend Commercial Dealings with Lebanon

Saudi companies respond to calls to stop commercial dealings with Lebanon (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi companies respond to calls to stop commercial dealings with Lebanon (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Saudi Companies Suspend Commercial Dealings with Lebanon

Saudi companies respond to calls to stop commercial dealings with Lebanon (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi companies respond to calls to stop commercial dealings with Lebanon (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers Ajlan al-Ajlan revealed that all Saudi national companies have stopped all of their dealings with Lebanese companies in response to what he said was the Lebanese government warranting terrorist attacks against Saudi Arabia.

All Saudi companies will not deal with Lebanese companies or economic sectors, al-Ajlan told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that Saudi firms will abstain from dealing with the Lebanese government.

According to al-Ajlan, cutting dealings with Lebanon is the least Saudi companies and businessmen can do to stand in solidarity with their country. Lebanon’s government had justified terror attacks launched against the Kingdom and its people, a matter which is unacceptable.

Al-Ajlan added that the swift move by Saudi companies to stop commercial dealings heeded the call he made earlier on Twitter to stop all commercial and economic dealings with Lebanon.

His call came to respond to the persistent targeting of Saudi Arabia with drug smuggling and justifying all forms of terrorist acts staged against the Kingdom.

Regarding Saudi investors in Lebanon, al-Ajlan confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the suspension of cooperation includes all economic and commercial levels as well as investment.

“It is illogical for the Lebanese government to continue this behavior of encouraging terrorist acts and flooding the Saudi market with drugs without facing consequences,” said al-Ajlan, adding that the Saudi government had previously tried cooperating with Lebanese authorities to stop such actions.

Lebanon’s economy is set to shed around $220 million in the value of total exports because of the move by Saudi companies. The Levantine country’s total exports do not exceed $3 billion.

The Lebanese agriculture sector will receive the hardest hit with a loss estimated at $92 million.

Lebanese producers will face a problem in finding alternative markets for the export of Lebanese industries and agriculture, since these products do not meet the requirements of the European Union.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Iran Conflict Disrupts Fuel Assessements from Reporting Agency Platts

A map showing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran is seen behind a 3D printed oil pipeline (Reuters)
A map showing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran is seen behind a 3D printed oil pipeline (Reuters)
TT
TT

Iran Conflict Disrupts Fuel Assessements from Reporting Agency Platts

A map showing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran is seen behind a 3D printed oil pipeline (Reuters)
A map showing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran is seen behind a 3D printed oil pipeline (Reuters)

Oil price reporting agency S&P Global Platts is suspending bids and offers for price assessments of Middle East refined products that transit the Strait of Hormuz because of shipping disruptions from the US-Iran conflict, the company said in a note to subscribers sent out on Monday and reviewed by Reuters.

S&P Global Platts, one of the larger providers of price and transaction information on the oil and fuel markets for the industry, is also reviewing its Middle East ‌crude pricing mechanism, the ‌company said.

From March 2 until further ‌notice, ⁠Platts has suspended ⁠the publication of bids and offers in the Middle East refined products Market on Close assessment process where they reflect loading at ports within the Arabian Gulf that require transit through the Strait of Hormuz, the company said in the note to subscribers.

Platts declined to comment on the suspension of the ⁠bids and offers for some of its Middle ‌Eastern oil product assessments.

The ‌Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that ‌connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea. On ‌a typical day, ships carrying oil equal to about one-fifth of global demand from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait sail through the waterway along with tankers hauling diesel and jet fuel ‌and gasoline and other products from their refineries.

Platts also said in a note sent ⁠to subscribers ⁠that it is reviewing the deliverability of Middle East crude from ports within the Gulf and will announce its decision at 2 p.m. (0600 GMT).

"This review has been initiated because market participants have notified Platts that major shipping companies have halted transit through the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened safety concerns after Israel and the US launched air strikes on Iran," Platts said.

Platts' daily Dubai crude oil price assessment is a physical benchmark used by traders and oil companies to set the prices of millions of barrels of transactions of Middle Eastern crude and their derivatives.

Business

Ship Insurers Cancel War Risk Cover Due to Iran Conflict

A navy vessel is seen sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which much of the world's oil and gas passes on March 1, 2026. (Photo by Sahar AL ATTAR / AFP)
A navy vessel is seen sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which much of the world's oil and gas passes on March 1, 2026. (Photo by Sahar AL ATTAR / AFP)
TT
TT

Ship Insurers Cancel War Risk Cover Due to Iran Conflict

A navy vessel is seen sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which much of the world's oil and gas passes on March 1, 2026. (Photo by Sahar AL ATTAR / AFP)
A navy vessel is seen sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which much of the world's oil and gas passes on March 1, 2026. (Photo by Sahar AL ATTAR / AFP)

Several marine insurers said they are cancelling war risk cover for ships due to the conflict in Iran and the Gulf.

Insurers including Gard, Skuld, NorthStandard, the London P&I Club and the American Club said their cancellations will take effect from March 5, according to notices dated March 1 on their websites.

War risk cover will be excluded in Iranian ‌waters, as ‌well as the Gulf and adjacent waters, ‌according ⁠to the notices.

Skuld ⁠added in its notice that it was working on a buy-back option to reinstate cover.

Japan's MS&AD Insurance Group told Reuters it had suspended underwriting of a range of insurance policies covering war risks in the waters around Iran and Israel and ⁠neighboring countries.

Tensions in the Middle East have ‌escalated sharply after the US ‌and Israeli forces launched strikes on Iran over the weekend, ‌prompting Tehran to say it had closed ‌navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for global oil and gas flows.

Several tanker owners, oil majors and trading houses have since suspended crude, fuel and liquefied ‌natural gas shipments through the narrow waterway, and satellite data has shown vessels accumulating ⁠near key ⁠United Arab Emirates ports such as Fujairah.

Ship-tracking data on Sunday showed the disruption growing, with at least 150 tankers - including crude and LNG carriers - anchored in open Gulf waters beyond the Strait of Hormuz and dozens more stationary on the other side of the chokepoint.

The risks intensified further after at least three tankers were damaged off the Gulf coast and one seafarer was killed.

 

Business

Gold Climbs as US-Israel Strikes on Iran Spark Safe-haven Demand

A goldsmith displays gold ornaments at the Hua Seng Heng gold shop in Bangkok, Thailand, 01 March 2026. EPA/NARONG SANGNAK
A goldsmith displays gold ornaments at the Hua Seng Heng gold shop in Bangkok, Thailand, 01 March 2026. EPA/NARONG SANGNAK
TT
TT

Gold Climbs as US-Israel Strikes on Iran Spark Safe-haven Demand

A goldsmith displays gold ornaments at the Hua Seng Heng gold shop in Bangkok, Thailand, 01 March 2026. EPA/NARONG SANGNAK
A goldsmith displays gold ornaments at the Hua Seng Heng gold shop in Bangkok, Thailand, 01 March 2026. EPA/NARONG SANGNAK

Gold prices rose on Monday after the US and Israel launched major strikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, escalating geopolitical tensions and deepening global economic uncertainty.

Spot gold was up 1.37% at $5,349.44 an ounce, as of 0439 GMT, after hitting its highest point in more than four weeks. Earlier in the session, bullion prices climbed as much as 2%.

US gold futures rose 2.21% to $5,362.60 per ounce.

Israel launched a new wave of strikes on Tehran on Sunday and Iran responded with ‌more missile barrages, ‌a day after the killing of Khamenei ‌pitched ⁠the Middle East ⁠and the global economy into deepening uncertainty, Reuters said.

"Unlike previous escalations in this conflict, there is fairly strong incentive here for both sides to continue to escalate potentially - and that runs the risk of leading to a pretty chaotic, uncertain and therefore volatile environment for more than just a few days ... the dynamic for gold is pretty positive" ⁠said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

However, ‌the US dollar index rose ‌0.27%, making gold more expensive for overseas buyers and capping the metal's ‌gains.

Bullion, a traditional safe-haven asset, has hit successive record highs ‌already this year due to heightened global political and economic uncertainty.

The latest rally builds on a 64% surge in 2025, driven by strong central bank buying, robust inflows into exchange-traded funds and expectations of US monetary ‌policy easing.

"Gold is perhaps the finest barometer to reflect global uncertainty and, to mix metaphors, the ⁠mercury is ⁠rising. We should expect gold to be repriced higher to fresh records as we enter a whole new era of geopolitical uncertainty," said independent analyst Ross Norman.

Meanwhile, data on Friday showed that US producer prices rose more than expected in January, suggesting inflation could pick up in coming months.

Investors will also watch a series of US labor market readings this week, including the ADP employment report, weekly jobless claims and the non-farm payrolls report.

Spot silver shed 0.3% to $93.54 per ounce, after registering a monthly gain in February.

Spot platinum was roughly steady at $2,363.26 per ounce, while palladium advanced 0.86% to $1,801.50.