Saudi Arabia Financial News

By Ariba Shahid

Barcelona will face off against Copa del Rey runners-up Osasuna in the second semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Barcelona versus Osasuna Spanish Super Cup semi-final match will kick off at 2 pm (ET), on Thursday, January 11.

Maldives President Mohammed Muizzu has proposed to revive the free trade agreement with Beijing, but the move could push Male towards a debt trap. China's current share of Maldives total debt is 37% and there are fears that FTA will further increase debt share, pushing Maldives into a Sri Lanka-type crisis, ET has learnt. The Covid pandemic, notwithstanding India's generous assistance to the island nation, has dented Maldivian economy, according to observers.

Antony Blinken spoke to President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday about reforming the Palestinian self-rule government, as part of US efforts to rally the region behind postwar plans for Gaza that also include concrete steps toward a Palestinian state. Blinken says he has secured commitments from multiple countries in the region to assist with rebuilding and governing Gaza after Israel's war against Hamas, and that wider Israeli-Arab normalization is still possible, but only if there is «a pathway to a Palestinian state.»

Investing.com-- Oil prices advanced in Asian trade on Wednesday, extending a recent rebound as signs of supply disruptions in the Middle East persisted, while industry data pointed to another week of sharp builds in U.S. product inventories.

Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid will play in the first semi-final of Spanish Super Cup 2024 in Saudi Arabia. The second semi-final will be played between Barcelona and Osasuna. Winners will play in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday. Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid's Spanish Super Cup semi-final will be held at Riyadh's Al-Awwal Park on Wednesday, January 10. The kick off will be at 2 pm (ET) and 11 am (PT). The soccer game can be watched on ESPN 2 and ESPN+. The live streaming will available on FuboTV. One can avail FuboTV's free trial offer.

Sensex Today | Share Market Live Updates: Indian benchmark indices Sensex and the Nifty opened higher on Tuesday tracking Asian stock markets which recorded gains in line with the rise in Wall Street shares. Sensex jumped 400 points while Nifty was above the 21,650 level.Asian stock markets showed some signs of resilience with most indices recording gains on the heels of a tech-driven surge on Wall Street. Investors across the globe are keenly awaiting the US inflation data, a critical factor that could influence the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rate adjustments.

By Arathy Somasekhar

Investing.com-- Oil prices steadied in Asian trade on Tuesday after falling sharply at the beginning of the week, as sharp price cuts on oil sales by Saudi Arabia ramped up concerns over sluggish demand.

Most of Wall Street is rising Monday as yields ease in the bond market

(Reuters) — European shares opened lower on Monday, extending their lacklustre start to the year, as higher government bond yields and tepid energy stocks weighed on risk appetite.

Brent crude slipped 0.93%, or 73 cents, to $78.03 a barrel by 0753 GMT after falling more than 1% earlier in the session, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures shed 1.04%, or 77 cents, to $73.04 a barrel. «Saudi Aramco slashing its February OSPs bolsters the weak demand narrative,» said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights. Rising supply and competition with rival producers prompted Saudi Arabia on Sunday to cut the February official selling price (OSP) of its flagship Arab Light crude to Asia to the lowest level in 27 months. «If we were just to focus on the fundamentals including, higher inventories, higher OPEC/non-OPEC production, and a lower-than-expected Saudi OSP, it would be impossible to be anything other than bearish crude oil,» IG analyst Tony Sycamore said. «However, that doesn't take into account the fact that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are undeniably rising again which will mean limited downside.» Both contracts climbed more than 2% in the first week of 2024 after investors returned from holidays to focus on geopolitical risk in the Middle East following attacks by Yemeni Houthis on ships in the Red Sea. U.S.

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole.

By Florence Tan

Investing.com-- Oil prices fell in Asian trade on Monday after Saudi Arabia slashed the prices of its Asian crude exports to over two-year lows, although losses were limited as traders watched for any potential supply disruptions from the Middle East.

By Ari Rabinovitch, Simon Lewis and Nidal al-Mughrabi

Houthi-controlled Yemen got within a “couple of miles” of U.S. Navy and commercial vessels before detonating on Thursday, just hours after the White House and a host of partner nations issued a “final warning” to the Iran-backed militia group to cease the attacks or face potential military action.Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S.

Houthi-controlled Yemen got within a “couple of miles" of U.S. Navy and commercial vessels in the Red Sea before detonating on Thursday, just hours after the White House and a host of partner nations issued a final warning to the Iran-backed militia group to cease the attacks or face potential military action. Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S.

India paid an average of $85.42 per barrel for Russian oil in November, the highest since the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies imposed a price cap of $60 per barrel to cut Moscow's revenue, preliminary government data shows. India paid 1.4% more for Russian oil in November compared to $84.20 per barrel in October, Reuters calculations based on government data show. The data also showed declining discounts for Russian oil narrowed the price gap with India's second largest oil supplier Iraq in November. India paid an average $85.73 per barrel for supplies from Iraq and $93.32/barrel for Saudi oil, the data showed. Since the imposition of the price cap in December 2022, India has mostly paid above the $60 ceiling for Russian oil that had still proved cheaper than the similar grades from elsewhere. June was an exception when prices were lower. Indian refiners buy Russian oil on delivered basis from from ports in Greece, South Korea and Spain, as well as directly from Russia. Sales from Russian ports at more than $60/barrel led to the U.S.

India's increased intake of African oil helped partly offset the 18% month-on-month import decline from its top supplier Russia in December, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa. Russia's share in India's imported crude market shrank to 30% in December from 34.5% in November. Africa's share increased to 7.6% from 4.7%.

India’s crude oil imports from Russia in November were the costliest in a year, government data show, reflecting lowering discounts on the fuel. Refiners in the world’s third-largest oil consumer paid an average of $85.90 a barrel for shipments from its largest supplier, up 1.8% compared with $84.46 in October. Barrels from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, India’s second and third-largest suppliers, were $85.70 and $93.30 respectively in November, as benchmark prices declined.