Economy Asia’s factory activity shrinks as China’s economy weakens Asia’s factory activity shrank in July, private surveys showed on Tuesday, a sign slowing global growth and weakness in China’s economy were taking a toll on the region’s fragile recovery. The data underscores the challenge policymakers face in keeping inflation at bay with tight monetary policy, while forestalling headwinds from a potential recession in the […] August 1, 2023
Oil & Gas Opec output falls on Saudi cut and Nigerian outage Opec oil output fell in July after Saudi Arabia made an additional voluntary cut as part of the Opec+ producer group’s latest agreement to support the market and an outage curbed Nigerian supply, a Reuters survey found. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) pumped 27.34 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, the […] August 1, 2023
Oil & Gas Aramco base oil unit Q2 profit up despite low sales Saudi oil giant Aramco’s base oil subsidiary reported a small jump in second-quarter profit on Sunday, mainly on lower income tax expenses and zakat, or charitable deductions, it said in a bourse statement, despite a 22 percent drop in sales. Net profit at Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company (Luberef) rose 3.97 percent to SAR454.85 million […] July 31, 2023
Infrastructure Israel plans to link $27bn rail project to Saudi Arabia Israel will build a 100 billion shekel ($27 billion) rail expansion that will connect its outlying areas to metropolitan Tel Aviv and, in the future, could provide overland links to Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. The announcement followed a trip by top US officials to Saudi Arabia last week to advance a possible […] July 31, 2023
Manufacturing Japan factory output rises on strong demand Japanese factory output improved in June for the first time in two months, government data showed on Monday, highlighting growing confidence among manufacturers buoyed by strong demand. Many countries, including Japan, are relying on domestic consumption to underpin growth while the risk of global recession persists. Factory output rose two percent in June from a […] July 31, 2023
Energy Oil on track for biggest monthly gains in over a year Oil prices hovered near three-month highs on Monday and are set to post their biggest monthly gains in over a year on expectations that Saudi Arabia will extend voluntary output cuts into September and tighten global supply. Brent crude futures dipped nine cents to $84.90 a barrel by 00:05 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate […] July 31, 2023
Banking and Finance Iraqi banks facing US curbs to challenge measures Fourteen Iraqi private banks hit with curbs by the United States over allegedly helping siphon US dollars to Iran said on Wednesday they were ready to challenge the measures and face audits and called on Iraqi authorities to provide assistance. US financial authorities last week barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions as part […] July 30, 2023
Agriculture Philippines seeks rice supply deal with India Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Saturday the country must boost its rice stocks and that he may seek a supply deal with India, worried about the potential impact of El Nino dry weather on the local harvest and about other suppliers. “I’m thinking about the national supply for rice,” Marcos told officials in […] July 30, 2023
Banking and Finance Moroccan economic growth slows to 1.3% in 2022 The Moroccan economy registered growth of 1.3 percent in 2022, slowing down from the eight percent growth registered in 2021, the central bank said late on Saturday. Abdellatif Jouahri, governor of Bank Al Maghrib presented the figures to King Mohammed VI during a reception at the Royal Palace of Tetouan, according to a bank press […] July 30, 2023
Oil & Gas Saudi may extend voluntary oil cut into September Saudi Arabia is expected to extend a voluntary oil output cut of one million barrels per day for another month to include September, five analysts said, to provide additional support for the oil market. In June, Opec+ agreed on a broad deal to limit oil supply into 2024 and Saudi Arabia pledged an additional voluntary […] July 30, 2023
Energy Egypt rations electricity to tackle power shortages Egypt’s government will implement emergency moves, including rationing electricity and increasing fuel oil imports, as it bids to tackle a summer power shortage, the country’s prime minister said on Thursday. Egypt will import between $250 million and $300 million worth of mazut fuel oil to manage the power cuts, and will announce a plan to […] July 28, 2023
Tech US chipmaker AMD to invest $400m in India by 2028 US chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) said on Friday it will invest around $400 million in India over the next five years and will build its largest design centre in the tech hub of Bengaluru. AMD’s announcement was made by its chief technology officer Mark Papermaster at an annual semiconductor conference that started Friday in […] July 28, 2023
Economy Turkey’s central bank chief expects inflation to hit 58% Turkey’s new central bank chief pitched a comprehensive monetary policy in her first formal address to the media, while her acknowledgement of stark inflation pressures was welcomed by foreign investors. Laying out her philosophy in her debut news conference, Hafize Gaye Erkan pledged that her holistic approach would – in addition to interest rate hikes […] July 28, 2023
Banking and Finance UAE company backs out of German steel producer deal UAE-based Emirates Steel Arkan has walked away from a potential investment in Thyssenkrupp’s steel business, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The state-backed firm stopped actively pursuing a deal due to concerns over pension liabilities and other complexities of the business, the source said. Emirates Steel was considering buying a stake in the […] July 28, 2023
Banking and Finance Lebanon central bank chief denies alleged fund fraud Lebanon’s longtime central bank governor Riad Salameh defended his record on Wednesday in a televised interview just days before he is set to leave office, denying he embezzled public funds and saying his policies benefited the economy. Salameh, whose 30-year tenure as governor has been stained by a deepening financial crisis and charges at home […] July 27, 2023
Banking and Finance Iraq currency fall linked to black market dealings Iraq’s currency has fallen against the US dollar because some traders are sourcing hard currency in the black market instead of using the central bank’s official exchange platform, central bank governor Ali Al Allaq told Iraqi state media on Wednesday. Al Allaq said that some merchants were not using the platform because they were engaged […] July 27, 2023
Economy Israel’s judicial reforms to hit economy says Moody’s Moody’s Investors Service said on Tuesday that passage of a new law in Israel limiting some Supreme Court powers signalled that political tensions will continue and likely have negative consequences for Israel’s economy and security situation. “We believe the wide-ranging nature of the government’s proposals could materially weaken the judiciary’s independence and disrupt effective checks […] July 26, 2023
Tech Twitter’s rebranding to ‘X’ faces trademark challenges Billionaire Elon Musk’s decision to rebrand Twitter as X could become complicated legally: companies including Meta and Microsoft already have intellectual property rights to the same letter. X is so widely used and cited in trademarks that it is a candidate for legal challenges – and the company formerly known as Twitter could face its […] July 26, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey raises credit card interest to tame inflation The Turkish central bank on Tuesday detailed moves it was taking to support monetary tightening, including raising the monthly maximum interest rate on credit card cash usage and overdraft accounts to 2.89 percent. It said the increase in the rate, from a previous 1.91 percent, was designed to control inflation and balance domestic demand. The […] July 26, 2023
Banking and Finance Egypt offers dollar deposits to ease currency crunch Egypt’s two biggest state banks on Tuesday issued US dollar-denominated certificates of deposit with high returns, in what appears to be the country’s latest attempt to lure dollars away from the black market and back into the financial system. The North African nation is grappling with a shortage of hard currency, with the Egyptian pound […] July 26, 2023
Economy Egypt’s current account deficit narrows to $5.3bn Egypt’s current account deficit narrowed to $5.3 billion in July-March of 2022/23 driven by an increase in the revenues of tourism and the Suez Canal, the central bank said on Tuesday. This compared to $13.6 billion in the same period a year earlier. Remittances from Egyptians working abroad have dropped by 26.1 percent for the […] July 26, 2023
Banking and Finance China state banks sell US dollars to prop up yuan China’s major state-owned banks were seen selling US dollars to buy yuan in both onshore and offshore spot markets in early Asian trade on Tuesday. Insiders with direct knowledge of the matter said the sell-off was aimed at supporting the Chinese currency. China’s state banks usually trade on behalf of the central bank in the […] July 25, 2023
