North Africa

Gulf stocks had a mixed start to the trading session on Monday, as investors grew cautious in anticipation of this week's Jackson Hole Symposium for clues about the next U.S. Federal Reserve policy move. The U.S. released data on July retail sales on Friday. Although the results were as expected, a weaker consumer sentiment and a softer factory production suggested that tariffs are weighing down on certain parts of the U.S. economy. This clouded the Fed's interest rate path. The traders are pricing in an 85% probability of a 25 basis-point rate cut on September 17 and further easing at...

The Gulf stock markets were mostly higher on Thursday morning, as global stocks rose, after positive U.S. inflation figures raised hopes for a Federal Reserve rate reduction, and mixed earnings reports from the region. After data released this week revealed that U.S. consumer inflation rose at a moderate rate in July, traders expect the Fed will cut rates. The U.S. monetary policy changes have a major impact on Gulf markets where the majority of currencies are pegged with the dollar. Qatar's benchmark index gained 0.8% with nearly all components advancing. Qatar National Bank gained 1.7%, while Qatar Islamic Bank rose...

The majority of Gulf stocks rose on Wednesday as they tracked a global rally in stock markets after a softer U.S. Inflation data raised hopes for a Federal Reserve Rate Cut in September. However, mixed earnings reports from the region weighed down sentiment. Consumer prices in the United States increased by 0.2% from one month to another. The print in line increased the odds of a Fed cut to next month's rate from 86% to 94%. The U.S.'s monetary policy changes have an important impact on Gulf markets where the majority of currencies are pegged with the dollar. Saudi Arabia's...

The differential between Brent and Urals crudes was unchanged in Friday's quiet trading, as neither buyers nor sellers rushed to trade due to the turbulent geopolitical environment, traders reported. Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Oil, India's two largest state refiners, have purchased at least 22,000,000 barrels of non Russian crude for delivery between September and October. This is after the U.S. pressed India to stop buying Russian crude. According to participants on the market, September volumes of Russian crude oil had yet to begin trading and sellers still had plenty of time to negotiate a price with buyers. The schedule...

Investors were cautious in early trading on Thursday as they digested mixed earnings from corporates and continued to be wary of the leadership of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The expectation of a more accommodating Fed policy has increased in response to weaker macroeconomic data from the United States and Donald Trump's nomination of dovish candidates for the Fed board. According to CME FedWatch, traders now price in a 95.2% probability of a rate cut for September, up from 63% by the end of July. The U.S. monetary policy changes have a major impact on Gulf markets where the majority of...

Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority, a state-run news agency, reported that the United Arab Emirates had banned Sudanese aircraft from landing on its airports. This is the latest tension between the two nations. Sudanese authorities said that the UAE had also prohibited a Sudanese aircraft from departing from Abu Dhabi Airport. Sudan's authority expressed surprise at the reported decisions and said that it would be contacting airlines to reprogramme the reservations of passengers departing and arriving from the Gulf Country. Abu Dhabi authorities didn't immediately comment on Sudanese statements. Sudan cut diplomatic ties with the UAE last May. The Gulf nation...

The major Gulf stock markets fell on Wednesday as investors focused on corporate earnings and the tepid performance of the private non-oil sector. Dubai's benchmark index of stocks fell by 0.3% with all sectors falling. Dubai Investments fell 1.7%, and Dubai Islamic Bank declined 1.4%. DIB, the largest Islamic bank in UAE, reported an increase of 10.7% in its second-quarter net profits attributable shareholders. The benchmark Abu Dhabi index fell 0.2%. This was due to a drop of 1.3% in Burjeel Holding and a fall of 4% in Phoenix Group. ADNOC Gas however rose 1.5% following a 16% increase in...

Investors increased their bets on the U.S. Federal Reserve to support the world's biggest economy. CME Fedwatch says that the soft U.S. payroll data on Friday has increased the odds of a Fed rate cut in September. This is a significant increase from the 63% chance it had at the beginning of the week. The Fed's interest rate movements have a major impact on the Gulf Region's monetary policies because the majority of their currencies are pegged with the U.S. Dollar. Dubai's benchmark index of stocks rose 0.6% on the back of gains in shares related to real estate, utilities,...

The Gulf stock markets were largely muted on Monday morning due to weak corporate earnings. However, rising expectations of interest rate reductions by the U.S. Federal Reserve eased concerns over the slowing economy. Data released on Friday indicated that U.S. employment growth was slower than expected in the month of July. This has led to expectations that rates could be cut by the Fed in September. Fed decisions can have a major impact on the Gulf's monetary policies, since most of the currencies in the region are pegged to U.S. dollars. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 0.7%, with the majority...

The differentials between Brent and Urals crude were not much different on Friday. However, the falling oil loads from Russia's western port in August helped to support this grade. The daily Russian oil exports to the ports of Primorsk (Ust-Luga), Novorossiisk and Ust-Luga are expected to reach around 1,77 million barrels a day in August. This is down from 1.93 millions bpd as planned in July, due in part, because of the anticipated increase in refinery runs. The daily oil loadings in these ports, including Urals and Kazakh KEBCO as well as Siberian Light grades of oil will decrease by...

Azeri BTC crude oil loadings resumed from Ceyhan on Wednesday, after several days of delays caused by an increased check for chloride contamination. Meanwhile, Russian Black Sea oil loadings have been suspended. Two industry sources said that the two major Russian terminals, Novorissiisk in Russia and Yuzhnaya Ozereevka in Yuzhnaya Ozereevka, were suspended due to paperwork relating to new regulations regarding tankers' access into ports. The suspension will increase the uncertainty on the Mediterranean oil market, which is already jittery after a contamination scare led to the recent delay in loadings of Azeri BTC Crude Oil from the Turkish Port...

The differential between Urals crude and Brent dated remained unchanged on Monday as traders awaited the impact of European sanctions on Russian oil supplies. The UK imposed new sanctions Monday on Russia's "shadow fleet" that includes 135 oil tanks, as well as two Russian companies: shipping company Intershipping Services LLC, and oil trader Litasco Middle East DMCC. The EU approved Friday its 18th package against Russia which includes sanctions against Russia-backed Indian refiner Nayara Energy. Nayara Energy condemned Monday the European Union sanctions against it and said that it was exploring its legal options to combat the latest "restrictive actions."...

Iraq's Oil Minister, Hayan Abdel Ghani, announced on Wednesday that after a 2-year hiatus oil exports will resume through Turkey's Ceyhan Pipeline later on Thursday or Wednesday, according to Iraqi State News Agency INA. Abdel-Ghani stated that an agreement was concluded with the Kurdistan Regional Government regarding the resumed crude oil exports through Turkey's Ceyhan Pipeline. He told INA that "80,000 barrels of oil per day would be exported through SOMO, the Iraqi state-owned oil marketing company," referring to Turkey's Ceyhan Pipeline. Kirkuk-Ceyhan Pipeline has been off-line since 2023 after arbitration court ruled Turkey must pay $1.5 billion damages for...

According to court documents and a spokesperson for the company, trading house BB energy has filed a lawsuit against South Sudan over its failure to deliver oil owed as part of a prepayment agreement. South Sudan, one of the world's poorest nations, has been through two civil wars over the last 15 years. It is also struggling with a fragile peace agreement and increased debt. In March, South Sudan's government put its petroleum minister and other officials under house arrest. Court records show that BB Energy DMCC brought the case in last month. The company spokesperson said the case was...

Egypt's deficit in its current account decreased to $13.2 billion from $17.1 billion a year ago, according to the central bank of Egypt. The bank attributed a slimmer deficit to a 86.6% rise in remittances sent by Egyptians who work abroad as well as an increase in the services surplus as reflected in 23% more tourism revenue. Oil exports fell by $430.5 millions to $4.2 billion from $4.6 billion a year ago, while oil imports grew by $4.8 billion from $9.7 to $14.5 billion. Egypt is seeking to import additional fuel oil and natural gas liquefied this year in order...

The UK has rejected a Moroccan renewable energy project worth 25 billion pounds ($34.39billion) that would have used wind and solar power from the Sahara for up to 7 million UK households. The British government said that it believes domestic projects can offer greater economic benefits. Michael Shanks, minister of energy at the UK's Department of Energy, said in a written message to parliament that the government had concluded it was not in the UK's national interest to consider further support for the Morocco UK Power Project. The project, he said, did not align with the UK government's goal to...

Iraq's Oil Ministry said Thursday that it holds the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), legally responsible for continuing to smuggle oil out of the Kurdish Region. It added that the ministry reserves the rights to take any legal action in this matter. The control of oil and gas is a long-standing source of tensions between Baghdad, Erbil and other Iraqi cities. Iraq is being pressured by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to reduce its output in order to compensate for producing more than the agreed-upon volume. OPEC counts the oil flowing from Kurdistan towards Iraq's quota. In a ruling...

Three sources with direct knowledge of this matter and a document show that the Iraqi oil ministry sued the government of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region over oil and natural gas contracts signed with U.S. companies. The legal challenge is a new obstacle to the restart of oil flows through the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline, which have been stopped since March 2023 despite the pressure from the Trump administration. Masrour barzani, prime minister of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), oversaw the signing two energy contracts worth a total of $110 billion in their lifetimes, with U.S. firms HKN Energy, and WesternZagros. Has contacted companies...

The National Oil Corporation (NOC), which operates in Libya, announced on Saturday that an oil leak had forced the closure of a pipeline located south of the city of Zawiya. Libya's largest refinery is located in Zawiya (40 km/25 miles west of Tripoli), with a daily capacity of 120,00 barrels. The refinery is connected to the country's 300,000-barrels-per-day Sharara oilfield. The NOC published a photo showing a flow of oil leaking in the desert. The company announced in a press release that the flow of oil from the Hamada fields through the affected pipe was immediately stopped. "A team of...

Osama Rabi, the chief of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority, has said that the authority will consider offering transit fee discounts between 12% and 15% to help restore the traffic on the strategically important waterway, which is reeling after the Houthis' attacks on Red Sea shipping. Rabie, in a telephone interview with the privately-owned Sada al-Balad TV channel, said that discounts would be available within a few days of ratification from Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi. He said this after the revenue from the Canal continued to plummet due to attacks by Yemeni Houthis on shipping, who claim they are trying shut...

Italy's natural gas intake fell to its lowest level in more than 15 years to 61.7 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2024, the nation's power market manager GME stated on Friday. A total 2.5% yearly drop was mainly due to a decline in making use of gas in power generation, while intake by business and households was marginally greater compared to 2023, according to GME. On the supply side, gas imports fell in 2015 to 58.7 bcm, touching their lowest level given that 2015, GME stated in its newsletter. In spite of a drop of almost 9% in the year...

South Sudan aims to resume oil production at its Blocks 3 and 7 on January 8 with preliminary output of 90,000 barrels each day, Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol stated on Tuesday. South Sudan's economy has actually been under pressure in recent years in the middle of common violence while essential petroleum export income has been injured by export disturbances due to war in Sudan. Over the weekend, Sudan raised a nearly year-long force majeure on the transport of crude oil from its neighbour South Sudan to a port on the Red Sea after security conditions improved. The government has...

According to a letter sighted by us on Monday, the Sudan lifted its near-one-year force majeure for the transportation of crude from South Sudan to an port on the Red Sea. Khartoum declared force majeure last March after the main oil pipeline transporting South Sudanese oil through Sudan to be exported suffered stops linked to the problems caused by the war between Sudan’s army and insurgents Rapid Support Forces. In a letter dated January 4 from Sudan's Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to South Sudan’s Energy Minister, Khartoum announced that it would lift the force majeure due to new security...

South Sudan will resume pumping crude oil for export through a port in neighbouring Sudan within a few days, a South Sudanese government official told Reuters on Thursday, following repairs to an essential pipeline burst during fighting in Sudan. War broke out between Sudan's army (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Assistance Forces (RSF) in April in 2015, requiring millions to leave their homes and triggering a starvation. The oil exports transferred through the pipeline in Sudan have been a vital source of profits for South Sudan, representing 90% of its foreign exchange earnings, with Sudan taking a cut as a...