Abu Dhabi's Non-oil Foreign Trade During H1 Grows 12%

The total value of Abu Dhabi's non-oil foreign trade amounted to about AED124 billion ($33.7 billion) during 1st half of 2022. WAM
The total value of Abu Dhabi's non-oil foreign trade amounted to about AED124 billion ($33.7 billion) during 1st half of 2022. WAM
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Abu Dhabi's Non-oil Foreign Trade During H1 Grows 12%

The total value of Abu Dhabi's non-oil foreign trade amounted to about AED124 billion ($33.7 billion) during 1st half of 2022. WAM
The total value of Abu Dhabi's non-oil foreign trade amounted to about AED124 billion ($33.7 billion) during 1st half of 2022. WAM

The total value of Abu Dhabi's non-oil foreign trade amounted to about AED124 billion ($33.7 billion) during 1st half of 2022, compared to AED110 billion and 313 million, with a growth rate of 12%, recorded in the same period of 2020, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported Friday.

Exports during the first six months of this year increased to 26%, at a value of AED49 billion and 479 million, compared to AED39 billion and 193 million during the same period in 2021, it said.

Re-export activities increased to 6% at a value of AED23 billion and 43 million, compared to AED21 billion and 689 million recorded during the last year, while the Exports in the UAE increased to 4%, recording a total value of about AED51 billion and 475 million, compared to AED49 billion and 432 million last year.

The value of the trade-in commodities from normal metals and their products increased to AED24 billion and 516 million, with a growth rate of 22%, compared to AED20 billion and 112 million in 2021, WAM said.

The trade-in sound and image machinery and broadcasting equipment and their accessories recorded growth during this period with 23%, compared to AED17 billion and 903 million recorded last year. The trade-in pearls, gemstones, precious metals and their products have increased to 40% at a value of AED17 billion and 245 million recorded last year.

According to WAM, Saudi Arabia had the largest total value of shares traded compared to the countries, where the trade increased to AED28 billion and 636 million, with a growth rate of 3% compared to AED27 billion and 906 million recorded during the same period in 2021. It was followed by Switzerland with a total value of AED9 billion and 530 million, with a rate of A growth of 260% compared to last year.

The United States followed Switzerland with AED9 billion and 330 million, a growth rate of 21%, then China with AED5 billion and 959 million with a growth rate of 9%, and Kuwait with AED5 billion and 870 million with a growth rate of 13% compared to last year.

Director-General, General Administration of Customs, Abu Dhabi Customs, Rashed Lahej Al Mansoori said: "Abu Dhabi Customs continues to walk steadily towards achieving its vision to be a World-Class Customs Authority, leading change effort to enhance security, facilitate trade and provide distinguished services, constantly prompting to invest in advanced technologies that rely on digital technologies and artificial intelligence, which effectively contributes to saving time and effort for customers, and supports their choice of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to be a destination for their operations."

He added that Abu Dhabi Customs has succeeded to develop proactive strategic services that contributed effectively to develop the customs work system through the land, sea and air ports and facilitate customs inspections.
As for Ahmed Mahmoud Fikri, Director-General of Statistics Centre-Abu Dhabi, he said that the Centre looks forward to developing an advanced statistical system that consolidates continuous cooperation with its partners from producers and users of statistical data to provide continuous support to policymakers in the Emirate.



US Business Lobbies Say Diesel Export Ban Would Backfire

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright holds a press conference on the sidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna, Austria, September 14, 2026. (Reuters)
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright holds a press conference on the sidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna, Austria, September 14, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Business Lobbies Say Diesel Export Ban Would Backfire

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright holds a press conference on the sidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna, Austria, September 14, 2026. (Reuters)
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright holds a press conference on the sidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna, Austria, September 14, 2026. (Reuters)

Trade associations representing large US companies and energy suppliers urged President Donald Trump to resist calls for a diesel fuel export ban, arguing the move would backfire.

"Export bans would lead to less fuel production, tighter supplies, and rising costs for American families, farmers, and truckers," said the September 23 letter, which was signed by the US Business Roundtable, the American Petroleum Institute and more than two dozen other trade groups.

"While we understand the urge for a silver bullet, there are no easy answers."

High fuel prices have emerged as a major drag in the upcoming midterm elections for Trump's Republican Party. Candidates from rural regions in Iowa and other states have urged an export ban on diesel, which is also used in trucks and other hauling vehicles.

While Trump administration officials such as Energy Secretary Chris Wright have rejected a ban, Trump himself on Tuesday signaled support for the move.

"I've called for that too. I've said let's not send out the diesel," Trump said on Tuesday.

Diesel prices in the United States have hit records due to the ongoing US-Iran war. Diesel prices currently average $6.51 per gallon, up 76 percent from the year-ago level.

The business groups argue exports allow "US refineries to balance their systems and maximize production," according to the letter. "An export ban would require refineries to throttle utilization to reduce diesel production to equal domestic demand. Falling utilization would result in less gasoline and jet fuel production and higher prices for those products as well."

Andy Lipow, of Lipow Oil Associates, a Houston consultancy, said there is limited storage capacity in the US Gulf Coast, home to much of the nation's refining capacity.

"If you were to ban diesel exports, the refiners have two choices. One is find a place to store it, or two is not to make it," said Lipow.


Iraq Exports 2.6 million bpd from Southern Ports

An oil field in the Dibs area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (Reuters)
An oil field in the Dibs area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (Reuters)
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Iraq Exports 2.6 million bpd from Southern Ports

An oil field in the Dibs area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (Reuters)
An oil field in the Dibs area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (Reuters)

Iraq is exporting around 2.6 million barrels of oil per day from its southern ports so far in September and producing more than 3 million bpd from its southern oilfields, Bassem Abdul Karim, head of Iraq's Basra Oil Company, said on Thursday.

Abdul Karim, speaking at an energy conference in Basra, added that Iraq is transporting around 250,000 bpd of Basra crude to Kirkuk for exports via Ceyhan in Türkiye.

On September 16, Iraq launched a pilot operation to transport crude oil by road from its southern oilfields to a Kirkuk storage facility in an effort to boost supplies to the northern export system and potentially increase shipments through Türkiye's Ceyhan port.

The initiative forms part of broader Iraqi efforts to increase flows through the northern export route after the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupted Iraq's shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, its main export route.


Oil Gains on Little Sign of Progress in US-Iran Talks

Gas prices at a Shell gas station above $6 a gallon for regular gasoline and $8 a gallon for diesel are displayed across from a US flag outside of the Marathon Petroleum Corp. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Gas prices at a Shell gas station above $6 a gallon for regular gasoline and $8 a gallon for diesel are displayed across from a US flag outside of the Marathon Petroleum Corp. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
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Oil Gains on Little Sign of Progress in US-Iran Talks

Gas prices at a Shell gas station above $6 a gallon for regular gasoline and $8 a gallon for diesel are displayed across from a US flag outside of the Marathon Petroleum Corp. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Gas prices at a Shell gas station above $6 a gallon for regular gasoline and $8 a gallon for diesel are displayed across from a US flag outside of the Marathon Petroleum Corp. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Thursday as diplomatic talks between the US and Iran showed little sign of progress, while investors focused on uncertainty about a potential US ban on diesel exports.

Brent crude futures were up $1.63, or 1.58%, at $104.71 a barrel at 1200 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.34, or 1.49%, at $93.53 a barrel.

Brent rose to as high as $106.50 earlier in the day, following reports suggesting Iran gave the US one week to meet its publicly stated demands, such as lifting the US naval blockade, Reuters reported.

Iran and the US remain divided over how to end their conflict, but diplomacy must continue, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, after Iran's president told the UN General Assembly that Tehran would never surrender to US pressure.

The official said Tehran was reviewing Washington's response to its peace proposals, which prioritise lifting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

European diesel futures came off all-time highs on Thursday amid uncertainty about a potential US ban on diesel exports. A White House official on Wednesday denied a report that said the US is preparing a 90-day ban of diesel exports.

A European Commission spokesperson said on Thursday that the EU was concerned about the reported US plans, as such a move would risk a negative impact on both sides.

Analysts and market watchers have warned a US diesel export ban would do little to ease high energy prices and could worsen global supplies and further disrupt economies.

The physical market for oil is nowhere near a fully normalised situation, said Priyanka Sachdeva, head of market insights at Phillip Nova.

"Brent retains a larger geopolitical and sea-route premium because international crude is more directly exposed to Middle East and Hormuz disruption, while WTI benefits more from relatively insulated US supply," Sachdeva added.

US distillate stockpiles, including diesel and heating oil, fell 428,000 barrels to 107.4 million barrels last week, Energy Information Administration data showed.

Meanwhile, US crude inventories rose 3 million barrels to 426.4 million barrels last week, though analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 641,000-barrel draw.