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Economy & Business

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

Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images

First LNG tanker transits Strait of Hormuz since Iran war began

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)

Pistachios reach highest prices in eight years amid Iran war

Pistachio prices rose to around $4.57 a pound in March, their highest since 2018, according to data company Expana.

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

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

Amid growing economic fallout from the regional war, Abu Dhabi’s bombshell request for a war-time financial lifeline from the United States is less about cash and more about clout — for now.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

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.

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Which airlines are cutting flights amid Hormuz fuel disruption?

Refueling trucks are seen at Southend Airport on April 17, 2026, in Southend, England.

How are Iran-linked tankers still moving through Hormuz blockade?

BAY ISMOYO / 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

Amin Nasser Aramco

Renewable energy industry not ready to shoulder global demand, Aramco says

The boss of the world's largest oil company doubled down on investing more in oil and gas, despite Greta Thunberg and other climate activists protesting outside the conference he was speaking at in London.

A picture shows a view of the dried-up bed of the al-Kalal River in the city of Badrah, near the Iran border, on August 28, 2023. Iraq's drought reflects a decline in the level of waterways due to the lack of rain and lower flows from upstream neighboring countries Iran and Turkey.

Agriculture, business interests will continue to weigh on Iran’s water sector

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

Harry McGuire Man Utd

Qatar pulls out of Manchester United acquisition race

The Qatari royal and banker had bid 5 billion pounds ($6 billion) for the British soccer club but further talks last week have broken down, the BBC reported Sunday.

A jewelry shop employee displays 24-carat gold bars in Ahmedabad, August 20, 2011.

Oil, gold climb amid Israeli-Hamas war, tighter Russian sanctions

One analyst predicts gold could reach $4,000 per ounce by year-end amid uncertainty caused by the Middle East conflict.

Ben Gurion Airport

Full list of airlines that have suspended Israel flights after Hamas attacks

Israel’s main international airport has remained open despite the conflict, and most Israeli airlines are still operating.

Gaza Strip

EU's backpedaling on Palestinian aid exposes fissures on foreign policy

An EU Commission spokesperson said at a Brussels briefing on Tuesday that earlier comments by a senior EU official were not endorsed by the top leadership of the 27-state bloc.

first tests of Alstom's Coradia iLint Hydrogen train between Reignac-sur-Indre and Loches, central France.

Saudi Arabia set to begin Middle East’s first hydrogen train trials

Saudi Arabian Railways, in partnership with French manufacturer Alstom, will begin to operate the world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger train in Riyadh later this month.

Gaza

Israel-Gaza war: Oil prices spike, Israel begins sell-off to support shekel

Israel's currency tumbled to its lowest level against the dollar since 2016 and the central bank is selling foreign reserves to prop up its value.

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Can UAE's currency swap offer Egypt's spiraling economy some respite?

The arrangement is expected to relieve some pressure on Cairo’s foreign currency reserves, secure FX liquidity and bring stability to the exchange rate with Abu Dhabi.

AL-MONITOR Staff

By AL-MONITOR Staff

alfalfa

Explainer: What is behind the Arizona-Saudi groundwater controversy?

The US state canceled the lease for one of Saudi dairy giant Almarai’s subsidiaries, saying it has been improperly pumping groundwater out of the desert.

A vendor selling watermelons steers his horse-drawn cart along a street in Cairo on October 2, 2023. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt’s economy teeters following Moody's downgrade

Egypt is suffering from high inflation, foreign currency shortages and an IMF-supported currency devaluation as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi seeks reelection.

A bird flies past a boat sailing along Dubai creek in the Gulf emirate on May 2, 2021 while the Burj Khalifa skyscraper is seen in the background. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

20% rise in Middle East late-stage venture capital funding despite global decline

Startups in the Middle East and North Africa have so far in 2023 reported a 20% year-on-year growth, new data shows, while global funding activity of this type has seen a 49% decline from 2022.