Bloomberg Bahrain’s foreign-currency reserves tumbled 11 percent in February, extending a decline that has fueled speculation that the island kingdom would either tap international bond markets soon or seek financial support from other Gulf Arab monarchies. Net foreign assets dropped to 645.2 million dinars, from 725.9 million dinars in January, according to central bank data released on Sunday. Overall, …

  TOKYO / Reuters Japan’s trade ministry on Monday reported success in producing gas last week by extracting methane gas from methane hydrate deposits offshore Japan’s central coast. The tests being run at two different wells are the first since 2013, when Japan achieved the world’s first-ever extraction of gas from offshore deposits of methane hydrate, a frozen gas known …

  Bloomberg Iran’s gold jewellery demand climbed to a four-year high in the first quarter, as the rest of the Middle East was hurt by low oil prices. An improving economy helped Iran’s jewelry demand climb 27 percent from a year earlier to 12.9 metric tons in the first three months this year, the World Gold Council said in a …