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

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Economy & Business

Meysam MIRZADEH / TASNIM NEWS / AFP via Getty Images

Iran strikes UAE’s Fujairah oil hub as US pushes Hormuz reopening

The United States launched an initiative to restart commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday as the UAE braced for fallout amid new missile and drone attacks.

United Arab Emirates

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Haitham AL-SHUKAIRI / AFP via Getty Images

Oman enters Gulf AI race with new special economic zone in Muscat

Oman will create an AI-focused special economic zone in Muscat governorate.

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.

Latest News

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

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.

Analysis

UAE’s OPEC exit rattles cartel as Gulf alliances shift

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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

MUMEN KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

First LNG tanker transits Strait of Hormuz since Iran war began

Yuichi YAMAZAKI / 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

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.

Inflation soared to nearly 70% (69.97%) over one year in April in Turkey.

Turkish inflation jumps from 20% to 70% in just six months

Even if monthly price increases ease to an average of 5% in the coming months, Turkey would face an annual consumer inflation of over 100% in the fall and finish the year with a rate of some 90%.

STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

OPEC+ alliance endorses slight increase in oil production

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other have largely resisted US calls to boost production but settled on a marginal increase today.

NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP via Getty Images

Bulgaria looks to Turkey for help with gas shortage

Russia has cut gas exports to Bulgaria, leaving Sofia looking to Ankara, which has some tough decisions to make.

Carbon capture

Egypt to store carbon with Italy’s Eni

The Italian energy company is pursuing increased cooperation with Egypt as well as Algeria.

Stock market brokers work at the Egyptian Exchange, Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 6, 2013.

Egypt to list army-owned companies on stock exchange

Egypt plans to list army-owned companies on the stock exchange before the end of the year, after repeated delays.

A Saudi man browses through Twitter on his desktop, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 30, 2013.

Analysis

US praises Saudi progress on intellectual property, notes issues in Egypt, Turkey

The Office of the US Trade Representative said that pharmaceutical product inspection in Turkey and illegal streaming in Egypt are key issues.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

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

Isabel Infantes/Getty Images

Explainer: Algeria-Spain gas controversy

The disagreement relates to both countries' troubled history with Morocco over the Western Sahara territory.

AHMAD HASSAN/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt’s non-oil exports up 20% at start of 2022

Egypt’s main exports are related to oil and the non-oil sector has been hurt by the war in Ukraine.

MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

Israel reopens crossing to Gaza workers

After Gaza took huge financial and economic losses in just three days of closure, Israel has reopened the border to a small number of workers.

General view of the Emirates' Central Bank, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 3, 2017.

UAE announces date for auction of dirham bonds

The Emirati government began selling bonds for the first time last year in a bid to diversify financially. This is the first time bonds will be sold in the local currency, as opposed to the US dollar.

United Arab Emirates

A view of a French jeweller Cartier shop at Jumeirah mall, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 8, 2017.

Abu Dhabi removes COVID-19-related capacity restrictions, masks remain

The United Arab Emirates’ largest city also recently mandated the resumption of in-person classes for students, and is heading toward a return to the pre-coronavirus normal.

United Arab Emirates