News

Reuters A package of handouts to Saudi Arabian citizens to compensate them for cost of living increases will cost the government about 50 billion riyals ($13.3 billion) this year, the information minister was quoted as saying on Sunday. “The allocation of 50 billion riyals for this decree indicates the leadership’s concern for the people’s comfort and quality of living,” Minister …

CAIRO / Reuters Encouraged by Egypt’s economic reforms, a major gas find, streamlined business rules and a devalued currency, investors are increasingly optimistic about prospects for the North African country after years of political turmoil. Foreign holdings of Treasury bills hit a record high in December, foreign inflows into the stock market last year were the highest since 2010 and …

Bloomberg Oman has accepted an amount of $210 million grant from Saudi Arabia to fund two projects at its flagship Arabian Sea port of Duqm, a rare agreement between two countries. The funding, which will be provided by the Saudi Development Fund, will finance a 61-million-rial ($158 million) fishing facility and a road costing 20 million rials, state-run Oman News …

Bloomberg The UK Health and Safety Executive is investigating the causes of a crack in a key North Sea oil pipeline that disrupted production at more than 80 fields for weeks. While an HSE spokesman couldn’t comment further on the matter, such investigations aren’t automatically triggered. Incidents must be severe or unusual enough to meet the regulator’s criteria for a …

Bloomberg Angola is poised to become the latest emerging nation to abandon its currency peg as it seeks to rescue an economy still reeling from the oil-price crash four years ago. The southern African nation, an OPEC member, said this week it would let the kwanza trade within a new band. The rate at which it’s been fixed against the …

Bloomberg King Salman ordered extra pay for Saudi government workers and soldiers this year after the implementation of value-added taxation and a surge in fuel prices stirred grumbling among citizens. Royal orders issued early on Saturday restored an annual pay raise for Saudi civil servants, suspended as part of attempts to rein in a hefty public-sector wage bill. The king …

Bloomberg The Trump administration is proposing to open almost all US coastal waters to oil drilling, including those off California and Florida where activists have fought for decades to spare delicate ecosystems from oil spills. The proposal will go far beyond President Donald Trump’s April order directing the Interior Department to consider auctioning oil and gas leases in the Arctic …

LONDON / Reuters OPEC deepened compliance with an oil supply-cutting deal in December due to a further decline in Venezuelan output and extra cuts by Gulf exporters, a Reuters survey found, showing strong commitment to the deal despite higher prices. Adherence to the curbs rose to 128 percent from 125 percent in November, the survey found. The Organization of the …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia cut February pricing for most of its crude sales to the US for a second month even as the world’s largest oil exporter ships record-low volumes to American buyers in an effort to help trim a global glut. While producers often reduce prices to stimulate sales, Saudi Arabia is cutting shipments to the US market to help …

Bloomberg One of the key gauges of oil market strength hasn’t looked this good for bulls since 2014. West Texas Intermediate futures closest to expiry are trading at the biggest premium to the next month in more than three years, as inventories plunge at the key storage hub of Cushing, Oklahoma. Stockpiles at Cushing — the delivery point for WTI …