Author: Finance for Sight

LONDON: Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices fell further this week to its lowest level in 10 weeks, tracking Europe’s bearish gas price momentum and amid weak demand due to comfortable levels of storage. The average LNG price for April delivery into north-east Asia was at $13.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down from $14.00 last week and the lowest since December 20, industry sources estimated. “Market conditions are fragile right now. Asia is well-supplied on a marginal basis, some forward strip tenders are out, but fundamentally, there is no tightness,” said Toby Copson, chairman at Davenport Energy…

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday and called for calm in an interview following Friday’s clash between the U.S. and Ukrainian leaders at the White House. The French presidency said Macron had also spoken to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, European Council President Antonio Costa and NATO chief Mark Rutte, on the eve of a meeting of European leaders on Ukraine on Sunday in London. In an extraordinary Oval Office meeting on Friday, Trump threatened to withdraw support for Ukraine, three years after Russia invaded its smaller neighbour,…

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday he had signed a declaration to expedite delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel. The Trump administration, which took office on January 20, has approved nearly $12 billion in major foreign military sales to Israel, Rubio said in a statement, adding that it “will continue to use all available tools to fulfill America’s long-standing commitment to Israel’s security, including means to counter security threats.” Rubio said he had used emergency authority to expedite the delivery of military assistance to Israel to its Middle East ally, now in a…

Saudi Arabia’s stock market ended lower on Sunday, extending losses for a fourth session, amid disappointing corporate earnings, while Egypt’s stock index was buoyed by upbeat company results. Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.6%, hit by a 0.4% drop in Al Rajhi Bank and a 3.4% decrease in Riyad Bank. Elsewhere, Saudi Tadawul Group eased 0.5%, after the operator of Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange missed analysts’ estimates on annual profit. Meanwhile, oil prices fell on Friday as markets watched an Oval Office argument between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents while also bracing for Washington’s new tariffs and Iraq’s decision to…

CAIRO: Israel will adopt the proposal by US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover periods, the prime minister’s office said early Sunday, hours after the first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire expired. On the first day of Witkoff’s proposal, half of the hostages held in Gaza, both alive and dead, will be released, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, adding the remaining hostages will also be released after a permanent ceasefire was agreed. Witkoff made the proposal to extend the current ceasefire after realizing more time was needed…

Rupee’s Performance Against US Dollar Since 15 Jan 2025 The Pakistani rupee recorded marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the rupee settled at 279.67, a gain of Re0.05 against the greenback. On Thursday, the rupee had closed at 279.72. Globally, the US dollar drew safe-haven support on Friday ahead of US President Donald Trump’s impending tariffs, though was still headed for a monthly loss as investors weighed those threats against a darkening US growth outlook. The US dollar index last stood at 107.24, having jumped nearly 0.9% on Thursday. Still,…

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday European nations needed a security guarantee, or backstop, from the United States to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine again if a peace deal is agreed. Starmer has long argued that a possible European peacekeeping force would need to have a security guarantee from US President Donald Trump for any peace deal to work in Ukraine. UK’s Starmer tries to revive hope for Ukraine peace at summit “I’ve always been clear that that is going to need a US backstop, because I don’t think it would be a guarantee…

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered a new trade investigation that could heap more tariffs on imported lumber, adding to existing duties on Canadian softwood lumber and 25% tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican goods due next week. In his third new tariff probe in a week, Trump signed a memo ordering Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to initiate a national security investigation into US lumber imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The trade law is the one Trump also used to impose tariffs on global steel and aluminum imports. The probe covers derivative…

Gold prices fell in Pakistan in line with their decline in the international rates. In the local market, gold price per tola reached Rs300,500 after it shed Rs2,500 on Friday. Similarly, 10-gram gold was sold at Rs257,639 after it registered a decrease of Rs2,143, according to rates shared by the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA). On Thursday, gold price per tola decreased by Rs3,300. The international rate of gold decreased on Friday. As per APGJSA, the rate was at $2,863 per ounce (with a premium of $20), a decrease of $24 during the day. Meanwhile, silver price decreased…

ROME: A gathering of countries in Rome this week agreed a plan to generate $200 billion in finance a year by 2030 to halt and begin to reverse the destruction of the natural world. The UN’s COP16 talks on biodiversity began last October in Colombia but failed at that time to reach an agreement on key elements, including who would contribute, how the money would be gathered and who would oversee it. US President Donald Trump is scaling back the involvement of the world’s biggest economy in development finance, so the agreement late on Thursday night was a welcome boost…