Economy and trade

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tarik pose during a meeting with business leaders in Paris on June 29, 2026.

Oman's sultan meets Macron in first France visit since 1989: What to know

French President Emmanuel Macron has been pushing against any form of toll for the Strait of Hormuz.

AFP via Getty Images

Traffic plummets through Strait of Hormuz after Iran, US trade fire

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had recovered somewhat before renewed fighting between Iran and the United States saw traffic drop sharply over the weekend.

A student attends a training seminar at the Tourism Ministry Training center in the city of Riyadh on August 30, 2022.

Interview

Saudi labor localization will take ‘generation or two': Armada CEO

Around 70% of Saudi Arabia's population is 35 years old or younger, according to the kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics, providing ample opportunity for an educated and technology-savvy national workforce in the coming decades.

Olivier Badard

CEO of Armada Holding

A tourist boat passes near crude oil tankers, bulk carriers, and other vessels anchored off Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat, Oman, June 19, 2026.

Analysis

Why the Hormuz oil shock never became an energy catastrophe

The US-Israel-Iran war produced a historic oil supply shock but not a severe global economic crisis, due to ample prewar supplies, China's energy pivot and strategic reserve releases.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Oil falls below $74 as Hormuz traffic recovers after Iran war

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Explainer

Lebanon advances controversial $500K golden visa law: What to know

A picture shows the four seasons hotel in Beirut with the snow covered mountain of Sannine in the background on March 8, 2019.

Explainer

Qatar blast underscores challenges in race to restart Gulf energy flows

Qatar's Energy Minister and CEO of QatarEnergy Saad Sherida al-Kaabi speaks during a press conference in Doha on June 22, 2026.

Interview

US-Egypt fund makes case for economic statecraft in hard power era

A worker counts banknotes after filling up the tank of a vehicle at a petrol station in Giza on March 10, 2026.

Cornelius Queen

Cornelius Queen

Senior Vice President of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund

Jordan, Turkey mending fences over trade agreement dispute

During a time of shifting alliances, Ankara views Jordan as an important potential ally — which no doubt has been a factor in Turkey's decision to renegotiate a free trade pact that Amman says favors Turkey.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY ARESU EQBALI Iranian temporary manual workers wait for work in Tehran on March 11, 2008. High inflation, unemployment, slack monetary policy and a lack of foreign investment: Iran is suffering from a litany of economic problems ahead of legislative elections on March 14. But despite windfall revenues from high oil prices, this has yet to be felt by millions of low and middle-earners who are finding their real incomes dwindling further due to inflation that has reached 17.8 percent.

Why economic growth has not led to job creation in Iran

Low capital formation and productivity are holding back the Iranian economy.

Trump’s steel tariffs add to US-Turkish bickering

Turkish manufacturers see “great injustice” in Washington’s new steel tariffs, as Ankara seeks compromise on the issue amid the tense political climate between the two countries.

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 20: (L to R) Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, foreign minister of Oman, speaks with Mohammad Javad Zarif Khonsari, the foreign minister of Iran, during the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters, September 20, 2017 in New York City. The most pressing issues facing the assembly this year include North Korea's nuclear ambitions, violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, and the debate over climate change. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

How Trump is prompting Iran to improve ties with its neighbors

Iran’s long-touted motto of prioritizing good ties with immediate neighbors is finally taking shape in apparent response to US-led pressure.

Are Iranians ready to 'Buy Iranian'?

As Iran rings in the new year, the government has launched a campaign to encourage the public to buy locally made goods, but whether the public has as much enthusiasm for local products is another question.

Employees work on a boat in front of a container ship, as they are both crossing the new waterway of the Suez canal on July 25, 2015, in the Egyptian port city of Ismailia, east of Cairo. Egypt began the first trial run of its "new Suez canal," officials and state media said, ahead of the formal inauguration of the new shipping route on August 6. Dubbed the Suez Canal Axis, the new 72-kilometre (45 mile) project is aimed at speeding up traffic along the existing waterway by reducing the waiting period of ve

Egypt’s trade with Turkey grows despite political rift

Egyptian efforts to attract investors and openness to Turkish investors have helped reduce Cairo's trade deficit with Ankara, despite ongoing tense bilateral political relations.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
A worker assembles a vehicle at a production line of carmaker Iran Khodro, west of Tehran June 20, 2011. Iran Khodro, Iran's biggest car maker which runs what it says is the largest car factory in the Middle East, sees sales rising at home and abroad, despite economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS) - GM1E76K1

Iran’s supreme leader urges people to support national products

In his annual Nowruz speech, Ayatollah Khamenei called on Iranians to support domestic industry by buying locally made products.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC13B91C4690

Blindsided Bahrain lobbies against Trump tariffs

The major aluminum exporter and US Navy host has been blindsided by President Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on aluminum.

Unemployed tunisians sit outside the headquarters of the Phosphate Gafsa Company (CPG) in hopes of employment in the local mines of Metlaoui on February 16, 2011. The phosfate mines of Gafsa, in the central-ouestern region of Tunisia are paralized by a civil demonstration for employment blocking acces to the mines. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

Protests in Tunisia's phosphate regions threaten economy

The recurrent disruption of phosphate production puts Tunisia's economy in the face of new challenges.

Tunisia's Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands as they pose for a photo before a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, China, July 19, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Schiefelbein/Pool - RC1D72BC9610

Tunisia hopes boost in Chinese investment can ease economic woes

After years of placing investments elsewhere in the African continent, China is increasingly looking to Tunisia to serve as an ideal middleman to control passageways between North Africa and Europe.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.

Workers manage the control room on the SPQ1 gas platform on the southern edge of Iran's South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf off Assalouyeh, 1,000 km (621 miles) south of Tehran, January 26, 2011. Picture taken January 26, 2011. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN)
- Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - GM1E71S058V01

Can European business and technology save the Iran deal?

Far from being a passive bystander as the Trump administration moves to tear up the Iran nuclear deal, Europe has plenty of options to save the accord.

Economic gloom fuels flight from Turkish lira

The Turkish government slammed Moody’s for downgrading Turkey’s credit rating, but its own citizens are increasingly fleeing the Turkish lira for the safety of hard currencies.