Regional News

  Jeddah / TNS The Eid Al-Fitr holiday is not only a great occasion for refreshing one’s faith and social relations, but is also a good length of time for Saudis and expatriates alike to take an extended holiday in which they can spend quality time with family and friends. At this time of year, a major attraction in the capital ...

  BLOOMBERG Oil markets will remain stable this year even as Iran plans to keep boosting crude exports to regain the market share it lost due to sanctions, according to a senior official at state-run National Iranian Oil Co. Iran exports about 2 million barrels of its daily output of 3.8 million, said Mohsen Ghamsari, NIOC’s director of international affairs. ...

  Cairo / Reuters Egypt’s urban consumer inflation jumped for a third straight month in June as consumer demand spiked during Ramadan, official data showed on Sunday. Food demand normally surges during the Muslim holy month because of heavy consumption following the dawn-to-dusk fasting period. Ramadan this year began on June 6 and ended on July 5. Urban consumer inflation ...

  Riyadh / TNS Saudi markets imported pearls and precious stones worth SR21.8 billion in 2015, compared to SR19.2 billion in 2014, or an increase of 13 percent, local media said. Imports of pearls and precious stones represented 3.3 percent of the Kingdom’s total imports, which stood at SR655 billion in 2015, compared to 2.9 percent in 2014, with its total ...

  Jeddah / TNS Car rental offices witnessed a surge in rentals during the Eid by up to 80 percent, compared to other vacation days, which contributed to the rise in rental prices of up to 60 percent. Workers in the sector in Jeddah and Makkah said some offices began to provide more vehicles, either by repairing those vehicles with problems, ...

  BLOOMBERG When Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi turned a standard speech on electricity supplies into an unexpected appeal for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, one man who wasn’t surprised was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The televised address in May capped months of backstage diplomacy by a group including former British premier Tony Blair. Nearly four decades after their ...

  BLOOMBERG The upturn in Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector was maintained at a steady rate in June, as highlighted by a further solid improvement in business conditions. Output and new orders both rose sharply, leading firms to raise their input buying at a marked pace. However, the respective rates of expansion remained subdued in the context of historical data. ...

  BLOOMBERG The downturn in Egypt’s non-oil private sector showed few signs of abating midway through 2016. Business conditions worsened for the ninth straight month, driven by ongoing declines in output, new orders and employment. The recent Egyptair incident was reported to have depressed tourism, contributing to another marked reduction in new business from abroad. Panellists mentioned higher prices as ...

  BLOOMBERG Two projects worth $45 billion announced this month show the world’s largest oil companies are regaining the confidence to make big investments, emboldened by rising crude prices and low costs that promise to trigger more expansion ahead. Chevron Corp. gave the go-ahead to a $37 billion expansion in Kazakhstan, the industry’s biggest undertaking since crude started tumbling two ...

  BLOOMBERG Exxon Mobil Corp. and Qatar Petroleum have teamed up to look at energy assets in Mozambique, home to some of the biggest natural-gas discoveries in a generation, according to four people with knowledge of their plans. The companies are considering buying stakes in gas fields owned by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Eni SpA, the people said, asking not ...