India’s rupee fell the most since November on speculation demand for riskier assets will be hurt as tensions in the Middle East intensify and poor Chinese economic data adds to concern over global growth. Emerging-market stocks and currencies dropped Monday as manufacturing in China weakened for a fifth straight month, the longest such streak since 2009. Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran and expelled the Islamic Republic’s diplomats, […]
Emaar Properties PJSC slid the most in more than two weeks, leading a decline in Dubai stocks, on concern a fire that ripped through its hotel on New Year’s Eve will curb earnings. Abu Dhabi shares also fell. Emaar dropped as much as 4.4 percent, before paring its slide to 3.5 percent at 10:31 a.m. local time. The developer of the world’s tallest tower was the biggest contributor […]
Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia’s subsidy scheme is poised for a change as the country announced that they would be reviewing government support for energy, water and electricity prices in the next five years. A 2016 budget document by the Ministry of Finance said that reviewing government support is aimed at achieving efficiency in energy use, conserving natural resources, stopping waste and irrational use, and minimising negative effects […]
Oil speculators are buying options contracts that will only pay out if crude drops to as low as $15 a barrel next year, the latest sign some investors expect an even deeper slump in energy prices. The bearish wagers come as OPEC’s effective scrapping of output limits, Iran’s anticipated return to the market and the resilience of production from countries such as Russia raise the prospect of […]
|By Matein Khalid| In retrospect, the last six years were a unique period in global central banking, an epic monetary experiment that averted a Great Depression after Lehman’s failure and interbank/credit contagion plunged the world into recession in 2008-9. Yet the Fed (and later Bank of Japan, ECB and even PBOC) quantitative easing also led to asset bubbles, credit market excesses, currency wars and the mispricing of […]
Almost every Middle Eastern stock index declined after oil, the region’s main source of income, sank to the lowest in seven years, damping the outlook for government spending. Dubai’s DFM General Index ended its longest winning streak in almost three months, sliding 1.5 percent, the most in a week, to close at 3,026.05. Emirates NBD PJSC’s 4 percent retreat was the biggest contributor. The Tadawul All Share […]
Crude slid to the lowest level in more than six years in New York as a rising number of oil rigs in the U.S. signaled the supply glut will be prolonged. Futures dropped as much as 1.9 percent after Baker Hughes Inc. reported that the number of active oil rigs in the U.S. climbed by 17 this week to 541. U.S. crude stockpiles surged to 490.7 million […]
Anglo-Dutch oil company Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Thursday called for tougher regulation of the Dubai crude benchmark, the Middle East’s most important oil-pricing mechanism, which has pushed up the region’s prices relative to other grades. “Regrettably, there have been times in recent months where the price of Dubai (crude) was assessed well in excess of the fundamental refining value of other comparable Middle Eastern crudes,” Shell […]
|By Lawrence Williams| The initial reaction to the Fed’s first interest rate rise in nine years has been marginally positive for gold. Only time will tell if, on reflection by the market, its initial post-hike performance can be maintained, or improved upon. It has already come down a little this morning trading in the mid to high $1060s after mid $1070s immediately post the announcement. This fall from the […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Gold prices were trading higher in afternoon dealings and holding on to early gains in the aftermath of the first interest rate increase from the U.S. Federal Reserve since 2006. The gains were explained as a move by traders to get a jump on the possibility of Fed rate hike, on the firm belief that the gold market would exhibit a “sell the rumor, […]
|By Matein Khalid| The plunge in crude oil after OPEC’s Vienna conclave, Dr. Draghi’s failure to resist Bundesbank pressure not to fire another ECB easy money bazooka, Wall Street’s junk bond debacle and an imminent rise in the Fed Funds rate for the first time since 2006 will all shape the next big trades in Planet Forex. The Euro has risen to 1.10 on Draghi’s failure to […]
As oil crashes through $35 a barrel in New York, some producers are already living with the reality of much lower prices. A mix of Mexican crudes is already valued at less than $28, an 11-year low, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Iraq is offering its heaviest variety of oil to buyers in Asia for about $25. In western Canada, some producers are selling for less […]
The Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange is introducing a spot gold contract next week before trading begins in 2016. The contract will cover 1 kilogram and be traded in U.S. dollars, DGCX Chief Executive Officer Gaurang Desai said by phone. The exchange, the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corp. and Dubai Multi Commodities Centre will showcase the product on Sunday in the emirate, according to an e-mailed invitation. “‘It […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|Analysts are consistently arguing in favour of a pickup in Dubai’s economic prospects in the wake of a possible boost in trade with Iran following the lifting of sanctions. Low oil price, which cast a shadow over the Gulf’s oil economies, has also affected Dubai, with its real estate sector, a key determinant of the emirate’s economic performance, showing signs of a clear slowdown. […]
|Arabian Post Special| Indian officials have floated the idea of a gold exchange for the country, which will help discover the standard gold price for India. The trading platform would be made available for all types of bullion dealers, jewellers, bullion refineries, individuals, and even temple trusts. Indian bullion dealers currently trade mostly on the Dubai Gold and Commodity exchange, which is dominated by the Indian gold […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| It is a double whammy for gold this Thursday. The metal was trading near its lowest in nearly six years while Reuters reported from Mumbai that third-quarter gold buying in India, the world’s biggest consumer, is likely to fall to the lowest level in eight years. Gold is hurt by poor investment demand as the dollar held at multi-month highs after U.S. economic […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Dubai’s external debt continues to be at tight spreads, given still high leverage and refinancing challenges but this is somewhat offset by certain positive aspects, a Bank of America-Merrill Lynch research report said. The positives include still solid local bid on the shorter end of the curve and its low-beta defensive status within an emerging markets context. The Iran nuclear deal is another […]
|By TAP Staff| Standard Chartered cut 11 sales and trading jobs in Dubai, including four managing director roles, it was reported. According to Bloomberg, the exits include those of Vikrant Bhansali, regional head of institutional sales; Farhan Aziz, head of credit solutions and Jillian Correa, regional head of flow. Standard Chartered has “acted to reduce management layers at a global level, and as a result, will have […]
The price range for mobile payments company Square Inc’s initial public offering will be set this week and its shares will start trading in the week before Thanksgiving, CNBC said in a tweet on Monday, citing sources. The company, headed by Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) Chief Executive Jack Dorsey, filed for an IPO on Oct. 14. Square’s roadshow, which will likely take Dorsey across the globe to drum […]
|By Matein Khalid| Saudi Arabia has fascinated me since I first met Hani AZ Yamani as a teenage student all those years ago at Wharton. Hani’s father was Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, legendary Saudi Oil Minister (1962-86) under Kings Faisal, Khalid and Fahd. Sheikh Yamani managed the 1973 and 1979 oil shocks, survived a terrorist assault in Vienna by Carlos the Jackal, midwifed the birth of Saudi […]
|By TAP Staff| Union National Bank reported third-quarter profit that missed analyst estimates as impairment charges rose and fee and trading income declined. Net income fell 12 percent to 480.6 million dirhams ($131 million), the Abu Dhabi-based bank said in a statement to the stock exchange on Sunday. Impairment charges jumped 57 percent to 199.8 million dirhams. Fee and commission income dropped 16 percent and the lender […]
|By TAP Staff|Dubai Financial Market (DFM) reported a 70 percent fall in third-quarter net profit on Monday as trading activity plunged, tracking a slump in oil prices. DFM made a net profit of 45.4 million dirhams ($12.4 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, down from a net profit of 153.5 million dirhams in the year-ago period, a statement said. Trading commissions are the main source […]
Gold is starting to shed its reputation as a dead asset, and bulls can thank signs that the U.S. economy is starting to sputter for the boost. The metal climbed above its 200-day moving average on Wednesday for the first time in about five months. A gauge of inflation dropped by the most since January and retail sales missed forecasts, increasing traders’ bets that the Federal Reserve […]
| By Yaroslav Trofimov| Despised by some, admired by others, the U.S. has been the Middle East’s principal power for decades, providing its allies with guidance and protection. Now, however, with Russia and Iran thrusting themselves boldly into the region’s affairs, that special role seems to be melting away. As seasoned politicians and diplomats survey the mayhem, they struggle to recall a moment when America counted for […]
