Trade Red Sea crisis ‘will push up Middle East consumer prices’ Higher prices will be seen in Middle East shops if the crisis in the Red Sea continues for another two months, the research firm BMI has warned. In late November, Houthi rebels in Yemen began attacking commercial vessels travelling through the Red Sea in what they claim is a show of support for Palestinians in […] January 30, 2024, 9:51 AM
Economy Suez slump compounds Egypt’s foreign currency crisis Disruptions to shipping in the Suez Canal as a result of the conflict in the Red Sea are exacerbating Egypt’s foreign currency shortages and increasing the need for a new financing package from the International Monetary Fund. Royalties from traffic through the Suez Canal contribute nearly 8 percent of the Egyptian government’s revenue and generate […] January 26, 2024, 10:59 AM
Logistics Wheat shipments through Suez Canal down 40% Shipments of wheat through the Suez Canal have fallen by 40 percent year-on-year as a result of the continuing crisis in the Red Sea, the World Trade Organisation’s Wheat Dashboard shows. Major shippers are avoiding the waterway, through which 15 percent of maritime commerce passes, causing supply chain disruptions and threatening a new wave of […] January 24, 2024, 4:08 AM
Opinion Logistics Red Sea attacks could harm more than ports and shipping The Houthi strikes could have serious implications for Saudi Arabia and Egypt January 23, 2024, 12:12 PM
Finance Saudi Arabia to hold WEF meeting in April Saudi Arabia plans to host a World Economic Forum meeting in April, the first WEF gathering outside the Swiss ski resort of Davos since the Covid-19 pandemic. Saudi Arabia’s economy minister Faisal Alibrahim told Reuters on 18 January, during the current meeting in Davos, that the meeting will be held on 28-29 April. It aims […] January 19, 2024, 11:02 AM
Opinion Markets Frogs, dogs and elephants – the zoology of business talk Sometimes only an animal analogy will do to describe complex corporate concepts January 19, 2024, 10:58 AM
Retail Kuwait’s Alshaya scales back operations in Egypt Kuwait’s Alshaya Group, one of the Gulf’s largest franchise owners, is scaling back its operations in Egypt due to “the difficulties faced by overseas businesses” in the North African country. “As a result of the economic situation over the last three years and the difficulties faced by overseas businesses trading in Egypt, we have taken […] January 18, 2024, 1:05 PM
Oil & Gas Saudi Aramco CEO expects oil markets to tighten Saudi Aramco expects tighter oil markets due to growing crude demand and shrinking stockpiles, its CEO Amin Nasser has said. Nasser believes that the disruptions in the Red Sea will not affect global markets in the short term. However, an extension of the crisis would result in a shortage of tankers due to longer travel […] January 18, 2024, 10:17 AM
Giga-projects Red Sea crisis a threat to Saudi giga-project investment The Red Sea conflict between western powers and Houthi rebels in Yemen could put Saudi Arabia’s mammoth economic development projects at risk, the sovereign wealth fund advisory Global SWF said this week. The US and UK began airstrikes against targets in Houthi-controlled north Yemen on 12 January to stop them firing missiles at Red Sea […] January 18, 2024, 9:35 AM
Oil & Gas Low LNG demand cushions Europe from Red Sea issues Low demand and healthy natural gas inventory levels have offset concerns over the Red Sea crisis, leaving markets cool-headed, energy experts said. Europe’s benchmark natural gas price, Dutch TTF, traded at €29.99 ($32.65) per megawatt-hour on Tuesday as industrial demand weakens and stockpiles grow, despite the cold spell. “Demand has so far disappointed, as households […] January 16, 2024, 2:16 PM
Opinion Economy Escalation risk in the Red Sea and GCC economies A military quagmire in the region could see recession return to haunt the global economy January 16, 2024, 11:19 AM
Opinion Oil & Gas Houthi strikes have little impact in a world awash with oil Oil prices are sticking at $75-80 despite rising security risks January 15, 2024, 3:20 PM
Giga-projects Saudi developer Roshn prioritises local sourcing Saudi developer Roshn says it is increasing its local sourcing of building materials to manage global supply chain problems. “We’re working on a target at the moment of trying to locally source around 60 percent of our construction activities within the kingdom,” CEO David Grover told Al Arabiya TV on January 14. “For us it’s […] January 15, 2024, 10:29 AM
Transport Porsche sales up 11% as Red Sea strife threatens deliveries Porsche “simply couldn’t find the ships” to get its cars from Germany to customers in the Middle East last year, leaving it with “really low inventory”, the company’s regional CEO told a media sales briefing on Friday. Those supply chain issues have been resolved, Manfred Braunl told reporters, but he warned that the ongoing crisis […] January 15, 2024, 4:59 AM
Oil & Gas Fears of supply disruption push crude prices over $80 Brent prices jumped by more than four percent on Friday after the US and its allies launched airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen in retaliation for attacks by the Iran-backed group on ships in the Red Sea. Global crude oil benchmark Brent traded at $80.74 per barrel, slightly above the estimated break-even mark of GCC […] January 12, 2024, 1:37 PM
Opinion Trade The Red Sea: a cautionary tale The Gulf nations could use the latest shipping crisis as a stimulus to bolster food security January 12, 2024, 9:50 AM
Video length: 05:17 VIDEO Retail Gulf retailers absorb Red Sea shipping cost rise – for now The Red Sea shipping crisis is only a “hiccup” in the day-to-day operations of UAE retailers, and customers will not experience any price rises or product shortages in the short term, chains are saying. “We wouldn’t call it a crisis. This particular situation isn’t much different to the challenges we had when the Suez Canal […] January 9, 2024, 10:01 AM
Transport Suez shipping traffic drops 20% as Houthi attacks continue Shipping traffic through the Suez Canal has dropped by as much as one-fifth in the last two weeks as Yemeni Houthis continue to target vessels in the Red Sea. Statistics from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) PortWatch platform revealed a 20 percent drop in ships using the Suez Canal route between December 24 and January […] January 5, 2024, 7:26 AM
Video length: 04:21 Transport Denmark’s Maersk gears up to restart Red Sea operations Denmark’s shipping major Maersk is planning to resume shipping operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden following the deployment of the multinational security initiative. The company had paused all vessel passage through the area earlier this month over the highly escalated security situation ensuing from attacks by Houthi militants based in Yemen. “As of […] December 27, 2023, 3:37 AM
Oil & Gas BP and Equinor divert tankers from Red Sea Two European oil and gas companies, BP of the UK and Equinor of Norway, have joined a group of shipping lines that are diverting their tankers away from the Red Sea, following missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants. BP said in a statement: “The safety and security of our people and those working […] December 19, 2023, 8:22 AM
Logistics Jet fuel most exposed to Red Sea closure, analysts say Trade analysts warned on Monday that jet fuel is the commodity most exposed to an interruption of trade in the Red Sea, as the world’s main shipping companies said that they would avoid the waterway because of missile and drone attacks. Several container shipping lines, including CMA CGM of France, MSC of Switzerland and A.P. […] December 18, 2023, 11:24 AM
