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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

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt remittances plunge amid economic uncertainty

Money transfers through official channels by Egyptians working abroad plummeted by 23% during the second half of 2022, reaching the lowest level since the 2016 crisis.

A worker is seen at the Kuwait Global Steel Services factory in Kuwait City on December 5, 2018. (Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat / AFP) (Photo credit should read YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf industrialization potential gains traction

The global push to decarbonize supply chains and the rise of a multipolar world is an opportunity for the Gulf to emerge as an energy-rich industrial hub equidistant from Asia, Africa and Europe.

Sebastian Castelier

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

View of the cottage village in the suburbs of Alanya, also known as the Turkish Riviera.

Russia, Iran, Ukraine nationals top Turkey's real estate market for foreigners

Official data shows the number of foreign real-estate buyers has increased in May from the previous month.

Uber

Uber to exit Israel as market share disappoints

In Israel, Uber is trailing behind Israeli-founded Gett and Russian-owned company Yango when it comes to taxi and private vehicle hire.

Emmanuel Macron Mohammed bin Salman

Saudi Arabia's MBS heads to France to meet Macron, attend business summits

The two leaders will meet Friday and discuss bilateral relations as well as Middle Eastern and international issues including the war in Ukraine.

Cars drive along a street in front of high-rise buildings in Dubai on Feb. 18, 2023.

UAE ranked first globally in attracting new millionaires in 2022

The UAE had the highest net inflow of millionaires in the world in 2022, while China had the highest net outflow, followed by India and the United Kingdom.

United Arab Emirates

A picture taken on September 15, 2019 shows the entrance of an Aramco oil facility near al-Khurj area, just south of the Saudi capital Riyadh. - Saudi Arabia raced today to restart operations at oil plants hit by drone attacks which slashed its production by half, as Iran dismissed US claims it was behind the assault. The Tehran-backed Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in a five-year war, have claimed thi weekend's strikes on two plants owned by state giant Aramc

Saudi Aramco tops Middle East companies for 2023: Forbes

The Saudi oil giant continues to perform well on the back of oil prices. The list also revealed strong performances by several Moroccan banks.

Steel workers walk at the Iran National Steel Industrial Group facility in Ahvaz in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province on December 22, 2020. (Photo by Reza SOLEYMANI ROUZBEHANI / ISNA / AFP) (Photo by REZA SOLEYMANI ROUZBEHANI/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Will Iran’s mining sector become key contributor to economic diversification?

Decades-long neglect and mismanagement have produced a deficient mining industry in need of a major overhaul.

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

Ngolo Kante

Saudi soccer team secures N’Golo Kante move from Chelsea

The transfer would mark an increasing Saudi influence in the world of sport, with Al-Ittihad recently buying French superstar Karim Benzema from Real Madrid.

A man carries a tray of bread through a market street on Dec. 14, 2016, in Cairo, Egypt.

Egypt's largest fortunes unscathed by latest tax changes

The Egyptian parliament approved a raft of fiscal reforms proposed by the government, including the income tax, but their reach and impact remain uncertain.

Manchester United's English striker Marcus Rashford (C) and Manchester City's English defender Kyle Walker (R) compete during the English FA Cup final football match between Manchester City and Manchester United at Wembley stadium, in London, on June 3, 2023. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) / NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING USE / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Qatari royal’s Manchester United takeover to be announced ‘soon’: report

Al-Watan paper, which is owned by Jassim’s father Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, reported late Sunday that the Qatari bid for the Red Devils had been successful.

Arab-China Business Conference

Saudi Arabia's Arab-China business conference inks over $10B in deals

The Arab-China Business Conference yielded billions of dollars worth of deals on electric vehicles, mining, technology and more.