Economy & Business - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Business and Economy Cover Image

Economy & Business

Oil tankers and cargo vessels are anchored off the coast of Oman after being stranded for days as congestion at Port Sultan Qaboos has prevented them from docking on June 23, 2026 in Muscat, Oman. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for the region's oil and gas, was effectively blockaded since the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran in late February. This week's provisional peace deal between the countries was meant to reopen the waterway to shipping traffic, but the pace of that reo

Oil prices ease as OPEC+ increases production, Hormuz traffic rebounds

Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 0.15% to $71.87 a barrel as of 8:07 a.m. EDT after dropping as low as $71.09 earlier in the session, its lowest level since before the US-Israel-Iran war began on Feb. 28.

An aerial view shows port of the western Syrian port city of Latakia, on Dec. 18, 2024.

Analysis

Can a UAE-backed Syria-Iraq corridor become Gulf's next trade route?

On June 26, Emirati and Syrian officials discussed plans for a logistics corridor connecting Syrian ports to Gulf markets via Iraq.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Oil drilling near Dakhiliyah in the desert region of Hasakah, Syria, Jan. 25, 2026.

Syria launches gas project with Saudi firm in latest Gulf energy partnership

The project is the latest in a series of Gulf-backed investments aimed at rebuilding Syria's energy sector after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Crude oil tankers, bulk carriers and vessels sit anchored around Qaboos Port on June 22, 2026, in Muscat, Oman.

Oil falls below $71 as US-Iran talks continue, Gulf exports rebound

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in an X post on Wednesday that Iran and the United States had made "positive progress."

Latest News

Trump earns $810M from UAE-backed crypto firm: What to know

People walk past a cryptocurrency exchange office with a screen featuring US President Donald Trump holding cryptocurrency coins in Hong Kong on March 12, 2025.

United Arab Emirates

Kuwait's Zain eyes $1.5B mobile network in postwar Syria: What to know

Omar Albaw / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Here's what to know about Iraq's corruption as Zaidi launches crackdown

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

This photo illustration shows Chinese 100 yuan notes in Beijing on Jan. 14, 2020.

Egypt considers issuing bonds in China’s yuan

Saudi Arabia may also price oil sales in the Chinese currency.

n Emirati man follows the market's movement at the Dubai Financial Market.

UAE meets $400 million target in first bond auction

The Emirati government decided to sell bonds in dirhams to boost the local banking sector and diversify financially.

United Arab Emirates

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R) and Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.

Russian ambassador to Iraq: ‘No objections’ to Kurdistan Region exporting gas to Europe

Elbrus Kutrashev spoke to the Kurdish news outlet Rudaw about plans to export natural gas from the autonomous part of northern Iraq to Europe in response to the war in Ukraine.

KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

Passenger traffic at Abu Dhabi airports triples, aided by travel from India

The quarterly results from airports in Abu Dhabi indicate that the air travel industry in the United Arab Emirates has recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

United Arab Emirates

Palestine COVID

World Bank praises Palestinian easing of COVID rules, criticizes Israeli control

The international financial body recommended several governance reforms for the Palestinian Authority to increase economic growth.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (L) and Heir to the Throne of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, May 9, 2022.

UAE, Greece sign $4.2 billion agreement

The UAE and Greece have become close allies in recent years.

United Arab Emirates

Eid Yosri, an artifact replica craftsman, poses for a photo with a mini sarcophagus of his own creation.

Egypt, EU sign development grants worth 138 million euros

The European Union has provided Egypt with numerous grants in recent years, while also criticizing the country on some human rights issues.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

British company announces new gas discovery off Israeli coast

Israel’s relatively new natural gas supply plays a major role in the country’s relations with its neighbors in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

French rice farmer Bernard Poujol holds a stalk of rice in a rice field, Saint Gilles, France, Oct. 12, 2017.

Egyptian scientist creates new rice variety that requires less water

An Egyptian scientist and head of the National Rice Development Project at the Ministry of Agriculture invented a new type of rice that does not need much water, after the Egyptian government announced that the country is suffering from water poverty.

People walk past Saint-Vincent de Paul Cathedral on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis on Dec. 14, 2021.

International pressure compounds Tunisian economic crisis

There are international and local concerns over the political and economic situation in Tunisia, which is hoping for a deal with the IMF in return for implementing reforms that are rejected by the powerful UGTT labor union.

AHMAD HASSAN/AFP via Getty Images

Abu Dhabi firm to create new shipping terminals, cruise lines for Egypt

Egypt is seeking to increase revenues from its ports as the economy struggles.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer: Oman may follow as most Gulf central banks raise rates

Inflation in the Gulf has not been as severe as in other parts of the region.