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Fujairah / WAM Volumes of oil products held in storage at Fujairah climbed to their highest since the all-time high seen in February as tumbling demand from the coronavirus pandemic left more supplies in the eastern UAE port. Stocks rose 5.3 percent over the past week to 24.953 million barrels, with the greatest build seen in light distillates, according to ...

SHARJAH / WAM The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) underlined its keenness on the constant coordination with the private sector to support its activities in the emirate of Sharjah in general and in eastern and central regions in particular. The coordination will be through the chamber’s branches in these cities by creating an enabling environment to enhance the ...

Bloomberg India will allow makers of information technology hardware, farmers and industries in rural areas to resume operations after April 20 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi crafts a plan to exit the world’s biggest lockdown and revive stalled economic activity. Amid a three-week lockdown that’s been extended to May 3, the government will also lift restrictions to allow e-commerce companies, ...

Bloomberg The US returned to Malaysia another $300 million that was recovered as part of the Justice Department’s forfeiture lawsuits targeting assets that fugitive financier Low Taek Jho and his associates bought with funds allegedly stolen from the country’s 1MDB investment fund. With the latest repatriation, the US has sent $600 million back to Malaysia as part of the continuing ...

Bloomberg Get your potassium while you can. The coronavirus pandemic may limit supplies of bananas in Asia. Growers in the Philippines, the world’s second-biggest exporter, said overseas shipments may drop by nearly 40% this year as lockdowns and social distancing measures curb output and transport. The country’s exports of the fruit are expected to plunge to about 2.5 million tons ...

Bloomberg Thailand’s gold shops are running out of cash because so many people want to sell ornaments, jewelry and bars amid an economic slowdown. “I’m asking people to sell gradually, not in large amounts, as shops may face a cash crunch,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said in a briefing on Wednesday in Bangkok. The yellow metal remains a popular way ...

Bloomberg India’s southwest monsoon, which waters more than half of the country’s farmland and is crucial for economic growth, is expected to be normal this year, the weather office said. Annual rainfall during the June-September rainy season is likely to be 100% of the long-term average, Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said.

Bloomberg Denmark may issue securities in foreign currencies for the first time in years as the government debt office pulls out the stops to finance programs to support the economy through the coronavirus crisis. While issuing in Danish kroner is the preferred option, Denmark is “one of the few countries in the world with the highest credit rating” and therefore ...

Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said all European countries can and should react “forcefully” to the economic crisis unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic, endorsing governments’ efforts to increase spending. “Fiscal deficits in Europe are said to increase by about 6% of GDP in 2020. This is large, but it’s entirely appropriate in the current crisis,” European Department Director Poul ...

Bloomberg The US government will nearly double the amount it pays hospitals and medical centers to run Abbott Laboratories’ large-scale coronavirus tests, an incentive to get facilities to hire more technicians and expand testing that fallen significantly short of machines’ potential. Abbott’s m2000 machines, which can process up to 1 million tests per week, haven’t been fully used because not ...