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Four Saudi Companies Sign Agreements to Develop Syrian Oil and Gas Fields 

Saudi and Syrian officials are seen at Tuesday's signing ceremony. (SANA)
Saudi and Syrian officials are seen at Tuesday's signing ceremony. (SANA)
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Four Saudi Companies Sign Agreements to Develop Syrian Oil and Gas Fields 

Saudi and Syrian officials are seen at Tuesday's signing ceremony. (SANA)
Saudi and Syrian officials are seen at Tuesday's signing ceremony. (SANA)

Under the supervision and follow-up of the Saudi Ministry of Energy, four Saudi companies, TAQA, ADES Holding, Arabian Drilling, and the Arabian Geophysical and Surveying Company (ARGAS), signed on Tuesday agreements with the Syrian Petroleum Company covering services, technical support, and the development of oil and gas fields in Syria.

The agreements build on the ongoing cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Syria in the energy sector. They come within the framework of implementing the memoranda of understanding signed on August 28 and the subsequent technical workshops and field visits to gas fields and associated facilities, reported the Saudi Press Agency.

Tuesday’s deals include an agreement between ADES Holding and the Syrian Petroleum Company that sets out the basic principles for the development, operation, and production of gas fields. It defines the core terms that will form the basis of a final technical services contract to develop and operate gas fields and associated facilities within the designated contract area.

The agreement aims to increase production across five gas fields, Abu Rabah, Qamqam, North Al-Faydh, Al-Tiyas, and Zumlat al-Mahar, as well as any additional areas agreed upon at a later stage.

The second deal is a master service agreement between TAQA and the Syrian Petroleum Company to provide advanced, integrated solutions and services for the construction and maintenance of oil and gas fields and wells in Syria.

The agreement aims to boost operational efficiency and boost production using the latest technologies and state-of-the-art equipment.

Another master service agreement, between ARGAS and the Syrian Petroleum Company, will provide 2D and 3D seismic surveying and related technical services to support exploration and drilling activities.

It establishes a long-term cooperation framework designed to advance petroleum exploration and development in Syria’s energy sector, ensuring rapid response, operational flexibility, and the efficient initiation of technical projects.

The fourth agreement, between Arabian Drilling Company and the Syrian Petroleum Company, calls for the provision of drilling and workover services for oil and gas wells in Syria, including the leasing and operation of onshore drilling and workover rigs.

Arabian Drilling will supply the drilling and workover rigs, deliver workover operations and operational support, and provide workforce training and development.

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Business

Egypt’s Inflation Eases to 12.3% in November 

Boats sail on the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt, December 9, 2025. (Reuters)
Boats sail on the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt, December 9, 2025. (Reuters)
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Egypt’s Inflation Eases to 12.3% in November 

Boats sail on the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt, December 9, 2025. (Reuters)
Boats sail on the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt, December 9, 2025. (Reuters)

Egypt's annual urban consumer inflation slowed slightly to 12.3% in November after a month-on-month drop in food prices, statistics agency CAPMAS said on Wednesday, with inflation coming in lower than analyst expectations.

The median forecast in a poll of 14 analysts had been for inflation to climb to 13.1%. The urban consumer inflation rate in October was 12.5%.

Month-on-month, urban consumer prices rose by 0.3% in November, CAPMAS said. Food and beverage prices rose by an annual 0.7% but fell by a monthly 2.6%, it said.

The annual inflation rate has plunged from a record 38% in September 2023, helped by an $8 billion financial support package from the International Monetary Fund in March 2024.

Inflation has been in part fueled by an expanding money supply. M2 money supply grew by an annual 21.68% in October, central bank data showed.

The central bank's monetary policy committee left its overnight lending rate unchanged at its last meeting on November 20, but cut rates by 100 basis points in October and 200 points in August as inflation slowed.

The policy committee is next scheduled to review overnight interest rates at a meeting on December 25.

Business

Egypt, Israel in Advanced Talks to Approve Israeli $35 Billion Gas Agreement

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee visiting the Leviathan platform in October. (Israeli Energy Ministry)
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee visiting the Leviathan platform in October. (Israeli Energy Ministry)
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Egypt, Israel in Advanced Talks to Approve Israeli $35 Billion Gas Agreement

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee visiting the Leviathan platform in October. (Israeli Energy Ministry)
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee visiting the Leviathan platform in October. (Israeli Energy Ministry)

Israel’s Ministry of Energy announced on Tuesday that negotiations over a natural gas supply agreement with Egypt have reached an “advanced stage,” though some issues remain unresolved.

Israel signed its largest-ever export deal in August to supply Egypt with up to $35 billion worth of natural gas from the Leviathan field.

After marathon discussions this week between the Leviathan partners and Israel’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, a final agreement was reached that will allow the export of 130 BCM (billion cubic meters) to Egypt for $35 billion, the largest export agreement in the country's history.

Israel's Energy Minister Eli Cohen has said he was holding up approval for the gas deal to secure better commercial terms for the Israeli market, according to Reuters. On Tuesday, he confirmed that talks were still ongoing.

As part of the agreement, the Leviathan Partners, NewMed Energy, Chevron and Ratio Petroleum Energy, will commit to a guaranteed price for the domestic economy, to give priority to the Israeli economy, so that if there are any malfunctions in the Tanin, Karish or Tamar fields, it will transfer gas directly to the local economy.

One of the issues that senior Washington officials have been dealing with is ensuring that US energy major Chevron, which owns 39.66% of Leviathan, remains committed to the deal.

The partners are expected to make an investment decision to expand the Leviathan field infrastructure withing two weeks, once the Israeli government announces its final approval.

Business

China’s Deflationary Strains Persist Even as Consumer Inflation Hits 21-Month High 

A shopper browses past shelves at a supermarket in Beijing on December 10, 2025. (AFP)
A shopper browses past shelves at a supermarket in Beijing on December 10, 2025. (AFP)
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China’s Deflationary Strains Persist Even as Consumer Inflation Hits 21-Month High 

A shopper browses past shelves at a supermarket in Beijing on December 10, 2025. (AFP)
A shopper browses past shelves at a supermarket in Beijing on December 10, 2025. (AFP)

China's annual consumer inflation accelerated to a 21-month peak in November, mainly driven by food prices, while factory-gate deflation deepened, with underlying trends suggesting domestic demand remains weak and unlikely to recover in the near term.

The $19 trillion economy is on course to meet Beijing's growth target of "around 5%" for the year, buoyed by policy support and resilient goods exports. But economic imbalances have worsened this year as US President Donald Trump's global trade war has added to persistently soft consumer demand, putting the onus on policymakers to step up stimulus measures.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.7% from a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Wednesday, matching a 0.7% expansion in a Reuters poll of economists. It had increased 0.2% in October.

The pickup in consumer inflation was mainly driven by rising food prices, which increased 0.2% year-on-year after dropping 2.9% in October.

But annual core inflation, which excludes volatile prices of food and fuel, was unchanged at 1.2% last month. On a monthly basis, CPI dipped 0.1% versus a 0.2% rise in October and a forecast gain of 0.2%.

Factory-gate deflation has also dragged on for three years in China, hobbling the world's second-biggest economy, even as the government has stepped up a campaign to curb industrial overcapacity and made calls on key sectors to scale back cut-throat competition. The latest data showed few signs of a recovery in the deflationary impulse.

The producer price index (PPI) fell 2.2% year-on-year in November, compared with a 2.1% fall in October and worse than the forecast for a 2.0% drop. The index was up 0.1% from October.

"China’s latest inflation figures indicate an economy that is warming up on the surface but is still battling deep-seated deflationary pressures underneath," said Zavier Wong, market analyst at investment firm eToro.

'WAVE OF POLICY SUPPORT' EXPECTED TO BOOST DEMAND

Most analysts expect deflationary pressures to linger next year.

Falling prices of everyday items underlined the challenge authorities face as firms, hobbled by low demand, try to lure buyers with discounts.

Total spending on fast-moving consumer goods such as packaged food and drinks, toilet paper and toothpaste in China grew 1.3% year-to-date, supported by a 2.4% decline in average selling price, according to a report by Bain & Co on Tuesday.

Analysts say the government needs to stabilize the faltering property sector, lower the youth unemployment rate and build a better social safety net to encourage spending to foster sustainable longer-term growth.

In the near term, however, more policy support is required to inject confidence, they said.

The country's top leaders have pledged to better balance supply and demand and signaled a shift toward supporting household consumption and restructuring the economy over the next five years.

The Politburo, a top decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party, vowed on Monday to keep expanding domestic demand and support the broader economy with more proactive policies in 2026.

"With recent attention being placed on getting 2026, the first year of the next five-year plan period, off to a good start, this will likely necessitate another wave of policy support in the early months of next year," said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING.

The economist penciled in 20 basis points of rate cuts in 2026.