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

Business and Economy Cover Image

Economy & Business

Aluminum ingots in the Aluminium Dunkerque plant of the American Industrial Partner group on Jan. 13, 2022, in Loon-Plage, near Dunkirk, France.

Iran war hits Gulf aluminum exports, risking nearly 10% of global supplies

The Gulf region is a critical hub for aluminum production, supplying roughly 8% to 9% of global output, with disruptions linked to the war now set to ripple through industrial supply chains.

A fuel pump is seen while refuelling a car at a gas station on March 13, 2026 in Kobe, Japan. Japan will release oil reserves to address the rise in gasoline and other petroleum products prices starting next Monday, said Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae. The International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that its member countries agreed to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, responding to the disruption in energy markets caused by the Middle East War. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/G

IEA's Asian members begin deploying emergency oil reserves

International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol said Asian members were releasing more than 100 million barrels of crude to stabilize markets.

Lukoil

Analysis

How Russia stands to win, lose as Iran war squeezes Gulf oil exports

As crude prices surpassed $100 per barrel with the Strait of Hormuz shut, Russia is reaping benefits amid new US sanctions flexibility — but experts say Moscow faces challenges capitalizing on this new market opening.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Saudis shop for fresh products at a market in Riyadh on Feb. 18, 2026, on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Saudi Arabia.

Analysis

Alternative supply routes emerge as Iran war tests Gulf food security

Roughly 61 million people in the Gulf rely on established food supply chains, many of which have been upended since the United States and Israel launched their attack against Iran on Feb. 28.

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

Latest News

Iran war hits fertilizer supplies as Fitch warns prices could rise some 25%

Young wheat shoots emerge from moist soil in farmland near Zakho, Iraqi Kurdistan region, Dec. 19, 2025.

Oil jumps above $100 as energy crisis called worst in history: What to know

Commercial vessels are pictured offshore in Dubai on March 11, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

Group of 32 states to release 400M barrels of oil reserves: What to know

Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP via Getty Images

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

Analysis

Oil-price hikes from Iran war threaten Turkey's rate cuts in inflation fight

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

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

A visitor views a Hunter 2-S unmanned aerial systems "swarming drone" by EDGE, an advanced technology company for defense, at the UMEX Exhibition, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, February 22, 2022.

UAE-Brazil ties strengthen with EDGE's acquisition of Brazilian weapons firm

Relations between the UAE and Brazil are improving militarily and economically following the UAE being offered membership in BRICS.

Muslim devotees take part in a rally to celebrate Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi, which marks the birth anniversary of the Prophet Mohammad, in Karachi on September 29, 2023. (Photo by Asif HASSAN / AFP) (Photo by ASIF HASSAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Pakistan, Gulf Cooperation Council sign 'preliminary' free trade agreement

When the final trade deal comes into effect, it will likely be the GCC's first since 2009.

Visitors stop by the Aramco exhibition at the Misk Global Forum on innovation and technology, Riyadh, November 13, 2019.

Saudi Aramco makes first global LNG investment with US MidOcean stake

MidOcean Energy is in the midst of buying interests in four LNG projects in Australia as part of its growth strategy.

This photograph taken on Sept. 21, 2023, shows a view of a hybrid solar power plant, with solar panels on ground and floating, in southwestern France.

UAE’s Masdar to triple Southeast Asia’s largest floating solar plant

The new agreement between Masdar and Indonesian power utility PLN Nusantara Power will launch Phase II of the Cirata floating solar plant in the Indonesian province of West Java.

United Arab Emirates

Man Utd 1

Jim Ratcliffe revises Manchester United bid as Qatar's offer is considered

Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, a Qatari banker and the son of a former Qatari prime minister, is the only other party to have publicly stated that they are trying to buy the British soccer club.

AMIR MAKAR/AFP via Getty Images

QatarEnergy, BP, others snap up Egyptian oil and gas concessions

Four blocks have been awarded one day into international bidding for the exploration of Egypt's 23 open oil and gas blocks.

Saudi women stand next to the Saudi pavilion (vision 2030) at the Gitex 2018 exhibition at the Dubai World Trade Center in Dubai on October 16, 2018. - Gitex ("Gulf Information Technology Exhibition") is a consumer computer and electronics trade show. (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi domestic capital to shoulder lion’s share of funding for Vision 2030

Halfway through Vision 2030, the kingdom has started to tap into domestic capital and debt financing to get some of its most futuristic projects off the ground.

Sebastian Castelier

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Sultanate of Oman, Muscat, Qurum: the Oil and Gas Exhibition Center.

Oman's oil and gas sector drives 30% GDP growth in 2022

Oman’s hydrocarbon sector growth rate was 61.6% from 2021 to 2022, compared to non-hydrocarbon sector growth at 16.9% during the same period, according to the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) 2022 Annual Report.

Prince Abdulaziz

Saudi Arabia inches closer to nuclear power with wider IAEA access

The kingdom's energy minister said that the country plans tougher checks by the International Atomic Energy Agency on its nuclear activities.

Al Dhafra Solar Photovoltaic Independent Power Producer project is seen during a visit by the French economy minister, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 31, 2023.

UAE, other Gulf states shift from talk to action on carbon capture tech

The idea of capturing and storing carbon emissions instead of letting them enter the atmosphere is gaining momentum in some parts of the Gulf region. It is also the necessary tool to rebrand hydrogen produced from fossil fuels from "gray" to "blue."

The first liveried Riyadh Air Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is unveiled during a ceremony at the King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, on June 12, 2023. (Photo by Rania SANJAR / AFP) (Photo by RANIA SANJAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf airlines flex might as Riyadh Air fuels new competition

The Gulf’s Big Three carriers are flying high as profits and passengers return.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Oil pumpers

China’s Bomesc to build $220M Qatar offshore oil, gas facility for Italy’s Saipem

The Tianjin-based engineering, procurement and construction company will build the compression facility for an oil and gas field off the coast of northern Qatar for industrial machine manufacturer Servizi Energia Italia.