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Gulf financial markets suffered significant losses on Sunday, tracking sharp declines on Wall Street last Friday after US President Donald Trump announced new reciprocal tariffs on countries with which the US maintains trade relations. The Saudi stock market posted the steepest drop among the Gulf states, closing down 6.8%. It was followed by Kuwait’s Premier Market, which fell 5.7%, Qatar’s market down 4.2%, Muscat down 2.6%, and Bahrain posting the smallest drop at 1%. The Abu Dhabi and Dubai exchanges were closed Sunday, though they had ended the previous week in the red, erasing all gains since the beginning of…

Turmoil spreads to sovereign debt UAE and Saudi bonds fall Oil price down to $60 per barrel Dollar-denominated sovereign bonds of Middle East and North African countries slid on Monday as President Donald Trump took effective US tariff rates to their highest in more than a century, causing steep declines in global stock markets and a flight to safety in US government debt. Saudi Arabia’s stock index tumbled to a 17-month low in early Monday trading before rebounding slightly, while equities worldwide have been routed on fears that Washington’s moves will spark a global recession. The turmoil spread to Mena…

As the global aviation industry reels from erratic US policy shifts, newly imposed tariffs add further unpredictability. Mass job cuts across the US government have shaken consumer confidence, dampening spending on holidays and flights. Government-funded travel has also plunged – up to 90 percent of overseas aid project trips have been scrapped. Visitor numbers from Canada to the US dropped sharply in the first quarter of the year, driven by a weakened Canadian dollar and negative consumer sentiment toward the US. Additionally, reports of impending stricter US entry requirements and an increase in visa rejections are fuelling industry concerns. All…

Lira stabilises after March fall Political protests to continue Minister welcomes cheap oil Turkish stocks dropped more than 3 percent on Monday, led by banks and fuelled by a global market selloff over US tariffs and counter moves. There is also ongoing pressure on the lira due to the jailing last month of Istanbul’s mayor. Istanbul’s main share index was off 2.5 percent at 08:50 GMT after opening down 3.4 percent. The banking index was down 3.35 percent. The BIST 100 had closed 1.10 percent lower at 9,379.83 points on the previous Friday. The lira traded at 38.0115 against the…

New import tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration will have a minimum effect on Oman’s economy, a senior official said.  “The US tariffs apply only for our non-energy products and not to our crude oil, gas and refined oil, so there will be limited impact on our finances,” Dr Nasser Al Maawali, the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy, said in an interview with Oman Television. Last year, Oman’s total exports to the US reached $1.2 billion, 11 percent lower than in 2023, according to figures by the National Center for Statistical Information (NCSI).  As with many other countries,…

Saudi stocks fall to 17-month low More than SAR850bn wiped off prices Aramco value down SAR350bn The Saudi stock market opened at more than 2 percent lower on Monday to a 17-month low, following its biggest single one-day drop since the 2008 financial crisis. The Tadawul All Share Index (Tasi) tumbled by about 1,025 points or 8.6 percent following US President Donald Trump’s announcement last week of a minimum 10 percent tariff on imports from most countries around the world. By the end of the day the Tadawul had reversed its early losses to rebound by 1.1 percent, led by…

Goldman Sachs has raised the odds of a US recession to 45 percent in the next 12 months. It joins other investment banks in revising their forecast as fears of a trade war grip markets after sweeping tariffs from US President Donald Trump. Goldman raised the probably of a recession in the next 12 months from a previous estimate of 35 percent.  The decision followed a sharp tightening in financial conditions and a rise in policy uncertainty that is likely to depress capital spending by more than what Goldman had previously assumed. Several investment banks raised their recession risk forecasts last week, with JP Morgan putting the odds of a US and global recession at 60 percent. Goldman had raised the probability of a US recession to…

Jordan’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 2.7 percent year on year in the fourth quarter of 2024, beating a consensus forecast of 2.5 percent, according to official government data. Full-year growth reached 2.5 percent, surpassing the initial forecast of 2.3 percent despite regional headwinds, state-run Jordan News Agency reported citing data from the statistics department. The manufacturing sector was the primary growth catalyst, rising more than 9 percent and contributing 0.9 percentage points to the headline figure. Agriculture grew strongly with an 8.4 percent increase, while extractive industries and utilities recorded gains of 4.5 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively, the…

Libya’s central bank announced a 13.3% devaluation of the country’s dinar currency on Sunday, setting the exchange rate at 5.5677 to the US dollar effective immediately. This is the first official devaluation since the bank agreed to a devalued exchange rate of 4.48 dinars to the dollar in 2020. The parallel market exchange rate is currently at 7.20 dinars to the dollar. In September last year, the dinar slid against the US dollar in the black market due to a crisis over control of the central bank that slashed oil output and exports. The crisis was resolved later in September…

Turkey aims to increase bilateral trade with the US to $100 billion, despite facing a 10 percent traffic from the Trump administration, according to a news report. Ankara is working towards removing the new tariffs imposed by Washington, Hurriet Daily News an English daily, reported citing trade minister Ömer Bolat. The country is ramping up trade diplomacy and pushing for direct negotiation for tariff relief on exports, he said. He said that Turkey plans to intensify trade activities with the US and strengthen economic cooperation, considering the new tariff regime. Bolat said the measures are being developed in major sectors, including…