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Economy & Business

A pumpjack stands idle in the Huntington Beach oil field, with port cranes visible in the distance, on April 23, 2026, in Huntington Beach, California.

Oil surges past $120 to war-time high as Trump rejects Iran overture

Benchmark Brent crude surpassed $120 per barrel on Wednesday, reaching the highest levels yet seen during the US-Israel-Iran war.

An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on Feb. 3, 2012.

Iranian rial hits new record low as blockade, war take toll: What to know

The rial had another collapse in late 2025, triggering massive protests and riots in the country that were ended by a forceful government crackdown.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

UAE’s OPEC exit rattles cartel as Gulf alliances shift

OPEC's fourth-largest producer will leave the cartel on May 1, marking the most significant departure in the group’s history as the war changes Abu Dhabi's relationship priorities.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

MUMEN KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

Why UAE's decision to leave OPEC is major shift for cartel

The UAE accounts for 12% of OPEC's output, but tensions had been simmering over intragroup rivalries and the country wanting to export more oil.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

First LNG tanker transits Strait of Hormuz since Iran war began

Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images

Pistachios reach highest prices in eight years amid Iran war

An Iranian grocer sells pistachios imported from Iran at a Persian products shop in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on July 10, 2019. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE’s cash request tests US ties as Iran war strains Gulf financial muscle

A view of Dubai Marina in Dubai on March 3, 2026.

United Arab Emirates

IEA delivers grim gas supply forecast as oil notches 15% weekly rise

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is moored at a LNG berth in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, prefecture April 8, 2026.

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 sign advertises the money transfer service Western Union on January 11, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. Much of the German financial services, consumer goods and foodstuffs economy is dominated by nationwide chains and brands. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Western Union shuts services in Sudan's Khartoum 'until further notice'

The international money transfer service said its agents were unable to operate safely and securely in the restive country.

The Horn of Africa

The local government headquarters of Sudan's Red Sea State is pictured in Port Sudan on April 18, 2023. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Sudan conflict poses credit risk to economies in region: Moody’s

The credit agency warned that the fighting had shut down the Sudanese economy and could leave multilateral development banks exposed.

The Horn of Africa

An Iranian man works at an oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf, on February 23, 2016. - Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh dismissed an output freeze deal between the world's top two producers Saudi Arabia and Russia as "a joke", the ISNA news agency reported. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran and GCC verge upon new era of oil ties

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

A picture shows a view of the SEA EAGLE, a vessel that reportedly left Ukraine with a cargo of wheat, anchored in Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, on Sept. 9, 2022.

What's at stake for China in Sudan as fighting drags on?

China’s economic interests, deep-rooted diplomatic relations with Khartoum, leaves Beijing worried about instability in Sudan and the Horn of Africa.

Cruise ship A Sara is moored on the Nile River, where 45 suspected COVID-19 cases were detected and evacuated two days prior, Luxor, Egypt, March 9, 2020.

Egypt charges tourist ships in dollars as greenback crisis spirals

Egypt commits tourist boats arriving in its ports to pay in US dollars amid a tough dollar shortage crisis in the populous country.

Ukraine and Iraq foreign ministers

Analysis

What role will Middle East play in Ukraine's post-war reconstruction?

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, there has been a raft of commitments from Western allies to help rebuild the war-torn state, but few from the Middle East.

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

Lawyer and businesswoman Sofana Dahlan poses for a photo in her office at Tashkeil on June 21, 2018 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia poised to become the Gulf’s most competitive e-commerce market

The UAE has long been the Gulf’s most dynamic e-commerce market, a hub for industry players from Amazon to Uber. But Saudi Arabia’s digital economy is developing rapidly and could soon overshadow its smaller neighbor.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A view of the platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is pictured from the Israeli northern coastal beach of Nasholim, on August 29, 2022. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel gears up to begin natural gas exports to Europe

David Rosenberg

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

Hassan Abdallah Egypt Central Bank Governor

Egypt’s debt crisis impacts other African credits, Goldman Sachs warns

As bond yields rise in Egypt, so have yields for sovereign bonds for Angola, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (L) walks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of a meeting in New Delhi on January 25, 2017. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is on an official visit to India and will be the guest of honour at the country's forthcoming Republic Day celebrations. / AFP / Money SHARMA (Photo credit should read MONEY SHARMA/AFP via Getty Images)

US, India, UAE, Israel announce creation of I2U2 joint business coalition

The new coalition will see officials and business councils from the four countries collaborate to attract private sector partners to the I2U2 initiative.

Manchester United's French striker Anthony Martial (L) competes for the ball in the Forest goalmouth during the English Premier League football match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United at The City Ground in Nottingham, central England, on April 16, 2023. (Photo by DARREN STAPLES / AFP) /

Qatar's Sheikh Jassim still confident in Manchester United takeover bid

The son of a former Qatari emir is reportedly still assured that his debt-free bid to take over the soccer club will succeed, despite an ESPN report suggesting that the current owners, the Glazer brothers, will now stay put.

A Tunisian shepherd herds his sheep near the dry reservoir bed of El-Haouareb dam, located near Kairouan, some 100 miles south of Tunis, Tunisia, July 13, 2017.

Tunisia faces water cuts amid severe drought, public frustration

The drought-hit North African country is imposing water rationing at night for the first time in its fourth dry year, which may increase social tension as Tunisians struggle with high inflation and a weak economy.