The U.A.E. Needs Qatar’s Gas to Keep Dubai’s Lights On
When it comes to natural gas shipments, the United Arab Emirates needs Qatar more than Qatar needs the U.A.E.
OPEC’s LNG Giant Keeps Exporting Gas and Oil as Saudis Cut Ties - Bloomberg
▻https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-05/saudi-led-isolation-of-lng-giant-doesn-t-stop-gas-or-oil-exports
Qatar, the world’s biggest seller of liquefied natural gas, can still access shipping routes to deliver oil and gas to buyers after Saudi Arabia and other neighboring states barred the emirate from exporting through their territorial waters.
State producer Qatargas told Japan’s Jera Co. that it would keep supplying LNG as normal in spite of the Saudi-led severing of diplomatic ties with Qatar, Jera spokesman Atsuo Sawaki said by phone. Jera is Japan’s biggest buyer of Qatari LNG under long-term contracts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The escalation of tensions in the energy-rich Persian Gulf probably won’t disrupt LNG supplies to Qatar’s main customers in Asia, according to Robin Mills, head of Dubai-based consultant Qamar Energy. “In principle Qatar should still be able to export via its own waters, Iran and Oman,” Mills said.
[…]
Aside from sending LNG and oil by ship, Qatar exports natural gas through a pipeline operated by Dolphin Energy, which is owned by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co., Total SA and Occidental Petroleum Corp. The link supplies gas to the U.A.E. and Oman and can send 3.2 billion cubic feet per day, though it only uses about two-thirds of that capacity.
Gas continues to flow normally through the Dolphin pipeline to the U.A.E. and Oman, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. There is no sign that supplies will be cut, they said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public.
A potential shutdown of the pipeline would cause a “severe problem” in the U.A.E. as demand for electricity peaks in the summer, Mills said. But he played down the likelihood that either country would halt supplies due to the hardship this would cause the U.A.E. and the damage it would inflict on Qatar’s reputation as a reliable energy provider.
Solar Is Now the Cheapest Energy There Is in the Sunniest Parts of the World
▻https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/18/solar-is-now-the-cheapest-energy-there-is-in-the-sunniest-parts-of-t
▻https://singularityhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Solar-energy-cheapest-source-sunny-parts-world.jpeg
In the US, natural gas is the cheapest energy at around five or six cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). A deal in Palo Alto, California late last fall was signed for 3.6 cents per kWh (5.1 cents removing subsidies, according to Naam). A deal signed in India was less than the price of coal there. No subsidies. In Chile, solar bids won a dozen auctions, one of which was the lowest we had yet seen at 2.9 cents a kWh.
“Now, that was not just the cheapest price for solar ever assigned, that was the cheapest unsubsidized contract for electricity of any sort on planet Earth with any technology ever in history,” Naam says.
That record lasted for about a month, when a deal in Dubai was signed for 2.4 cents a kWh—less than half US natural gas prices and lower than natural gas in the Middle East or Africa.
U.S.-Led Coalition Confirms Strikes Hit Mosul Site Where Civilians Died - The New York Times
▻https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/25/us/politics/us-led-coalition-confirms-strikes-hit-mosul-site-where-civilians-died.html?
Où l’on constate sans surprise, au regard de l’extrême indifférence générale, que Moussoul n’est pas Alep.
The American-led military coalition in Iraq said Saturday that an initial review of recent airstrikes in Mosul, the Islamic State’s last stronghold in Iraq, had confirmed that the strikes hit a site where scores of civilians were killed.
The inquiry, military officials said, found that a building had collapsed a few days after strikes by American forces. United States officials are seeking to determine whether the airstrikes brought down the building, leaving many Iraqis dead, or the Islamic State used the strikes as an opportunity to detonate an explosive in the building.
(...)
The March 17 airstrikes — which Iraqis said had led to the deaths of possibly 200 people — could have produced among the highest civilian death tolls in an American air mission since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.
After Trump Massacres in Mosul, Campaign against ISIL Halted
By Juan Cole | Mar. 26, 2017
▻https://www.juancole.com/2017/03/massacres-campaign-against.html
Candidate Donald Trump called last year for carpet-bombing of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) in Iraq and Syria. It is possible that Trump has loosened the rules of engagement for the US Air Force, which is providing air support to the Iraqi Army. Looser rules could well be producing more casualties.
Dubai’s al-Khaleej reports that after a US airstrike on West Mosul on Thursday that is alleged to have killed over 200 innocent civilians, the Iraqi Army has paused its campaign to take the rest of the Western part of the city. That is, Trump may actually have hamstrung the anti-Daesh fight by policies that led to a civilian massacre from the air.
The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights is reporting that an Iraqi civilian defense force is reporting that 500 corpses of civilians killed by air strikes have been discovered in Mosul.
Old Mosul is densely populated and it is possible that Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) still has some 300,000 people there under its sway. The Iraqi army and the US-coalition are attempting to dislodge Daesh, but never called for a civilian exodus. Hence, civilians are caught in the crossfire.
The US military admitted to carrying out the deadly strike, but were careful to underline that it had been called for by the Iraqi Army. Trump’s war strategy seems to be so unsuccessful that the US Air Force is trying to pass the blame for it off onto the Iraqi Army!
The Mosul judicial council has called for declaring Mosul a disaster zone. The judges added,
“The indiscriminate strikes on West Mosul by the fighter jets of the coalition must cease.(...)”
Possible bavure à Mossoul, plus de 100 civils tués
Sinan Salaheddin | Associated Press | BAGDAD
Publié le 25 mars 2017 à 20h53 | Mis à jour le 26 mars 2017 à 00h20
▻http://www.lapresse.ca/international/dossiers/le-groupe-etat-islamique/201703/25/01-5082337-possible-bavure-a-mossoul-plus-de-100-civils-tues.php
Une attaque aérienne visant des militants du groupe armé État islamique (EI) dans la ville irakienne de Mossoul, et qui aurait tué au moins 100 civils selon des témoins, a été lancée par l’armée américaine, ont annoncé samedi des responsables à Washington.
Migrate to UK from Dubai as an Investor
►https://www.permitsandvisas.com/migrate-to-uk-from-dubai-as-an-investor
Migrate to UK from Dubai as an Investor For centuries the United Kingdom has received millions of immigrants and continues to attract more through a very flexible immigration program. The growth in the labor market and specific industries are the main factors to encourage highly qualified individuals to relocate in the United Kingdom and be […]
Ismail Shammout’s Odyssey of a People to be sold for the first time - News, #Art, Christie’s, Ismail Shammout, Auction, Palestine - Harper’s BAZAAR Arabia
▻http://www.harpersbazaararabia.com/http://www.harpersbazaararabia.com/art/artists/ismail-shammouts-odyssey-of-a-people-to-be-sold-for-the-first-t
Christie’s en attend un peu moins d’un million de dollars...
▻http://www.harpersbazaararabia.com/sites/default/files/styles/ful_scr_img/public/images/2017/01/22/Odyssey-resized_1.jpg?itok=7jMroOOE
The vast masterpiece depicting the history of Palestine from 1948 to 1980 will be auctioned at Christie’s in Dubai on 18 March, consigned directly from the artist’s family
At six metres long, Ismail Shammout’s (1930-2006) Odyssey of a People is truly gargantuan, a labour of love that took the Palestinian artist six months to complete, painting every day daily. Now it comes to the market for the first time in Christie’s sale of Modern and Contemporary Art on 18 March in Dubai, consigned directly from the artist’s family.
Painted in 1980, the ambitious work attempts to recall the history of Palestine in one scene. As with the Arabic language, the painting reads from right to left. It starts with the 1948 Nabka exodus of Palestinian Arabs during the war, and records the subsequent conflicts of the following decades and the establishment of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). There’s a palpable sense of the people’s despair, the symbol of the Palestinian flag and kuffiyeh a glimmer of hope and unity.
Migrate to UK from Dubai as an Investor
►http://www.permitsandvisas.com/migrate-to-uk-from-dubai-as-an-investor
Migrate to UK from Dubai as an Investor For centuries the United Kingdom has received millions of immigrants and continues to attract more through a very flexible immigration program. The growth in the labor market and specific industries are the main factors to encourage highly qualified individuals to relocate in the United Kingdom and be […]
Iranian Cargo Ship Reportedly Destroyed by Rocket Off Yemen – gCaptain
▻https://gcaptain.com/iranian-cargo-ship-reportedly-destroyed-in-rocket-attack-off-yemen-reports
Seven people are believed to have been killed in an apparent rocket attack on a Iranian cargo ship in the Red Sea off Yemen, Pakistani sources are reporting.
The Ansar Burney Trust, a human and civil rights organization in Pakistan, posted pictures of the alleged attack on its Facebook page. The organization said, citing its sources, that the Iranian-flagged cargo ship MV Jouya-8 was hit by a rocket and destroyed off Yemen.
All seven missing are reportedly Pakistani nationals. One person is believed to have survived.
“Ansar Burney Trust International has received information through its sources that an unfortunate ship namely “MV JOUYA-8” has been hit by a rocket in Sea of Yemen and reportedly destroyed… so far one Pakistani has managed to survive some how who has managed to swim towards some island,” Ansar Burney said in a statement posted to its Facebook page.
The Pakistani news agency Geo News said the attack occurred Wednesday night as the ship was underway from Egypt to Dubai.
MV JOYA 8 sank after missile attack, 7 crew died, Yemen - UPDATE
▻https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2016/16507/mv-joya-sank-after-missile-attack-7-crew-died-yeme
UPDATE Dec 23: according to Ansar Burney Trust International, vessel’s name is JOYA 8 (IMO 8844696), vessel was hit by rocket in Red Sea off Yemen coast. Confirmed 7 crew died or missing, 1 swam to the shore.
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Seven dead off Yemen as rocket sinks Iranian ship - Splash 247
▻http://splash247.com/seven-dead-off-yemen-rocket-sinks-iranian-ship
Growing fears of attacks in the area has seen the UK deploy its most advanced warship off the coast of Yemen.
With a Teekay LNG carrier and a number of naval ships coming under attack in recent weeks and concern growing that terrorists are planning more suicide attempts in the narrow Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the HMS Daring was sent last month to help commercial ships transit the area.
The strait links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Kevin Doherty from Nexus Consulting told Splash last month there is a significant risk to all ships around Yemen from rockets, and that risk seems to be indiscriminate, being fired at any ship of opportunity.
–--------------------------------------------------------
Britain secretly sends warship to hold oil route | News | The Times & The Sunday Times
▻http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/britain-secretly-sends-warship-to-hold-oil-route-rvhhldwlw
Britain has quietly deployed its most advanced warship off the coast of Yemen to protect a crucial shipping lane from the threat of Iranian-backed missile attacks, The Times has learnt.
HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer, has been diverted from joining a mission in the Gulf to patrol the Bab al-Mandeb strait after three US warships and a United Arab Emirates vessel were targeted in the area.
Tout va bien, c’est le HMS Daring qui va dans ces eaux chaudes…
►https://seenthis.net/messages/498430
La photo que j’ai placée, venant de la dépêche, est celle de l’attaque d’un navire égyptien en Méditerranée en juillet 2015.
▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWGq6mCsE9U
Gros doutes exprimés ici
Cargo ship sunk off Yemen - UNCONFIRMED. - Ships Nostalgia
▻http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?p=2315721
There are a couple of ’problems’ with this report:
• The vessel was last reported on AIS, in the position of the claimed attack, on 11th November. - The incident supposedly happened on 22nd December.
• The Picture used to illustrate the report is the same (discredited) picture used 18months ago supposedly showing an Egyptian warship being attacked.
• The main source, Ansar Burney Trust, have nothing on their main website.
All other media sources refer to the Ansar Burney Trust. Some claim that the missile was launched from an aircraft.- There has been no Official confirmation.
In War the first casualty is always the truth....
Ansar Burney Trust International est une organisation humanitaire pakistanaise.
▻http://ansarburney.org
La photo m’avait fait tiquer du fait de son improbabilité ainsi que le fait que peu d’articles ont été consacré à la question. D’ailleurs, l’article originel mentionne bien son incapacité à vérifier de manière indépendante l’information.
The shipping industry and tomorrow’s technology faces a serious threat from cyber crime - The Loadstar
▻http://theloadstar.co.uk/shipping-industry-tomorrows-technology-faces-serious-threat-cyber-cri
Cyber crime is likely to delay the introduction of autonomous ships for several years – and it could pose a significant threat to the shipping industry if it fails to act soon.
There has been much progress on autonomous ships this year, notably from Rolls-Royce, and in October Norway opened the world’s first designated test area. But there is still a long way to go, believes SeaIntelligence CEO Lars Jensen.
“Autonomous ships are a long way in the future,” he told delegates at TOC Middle East in Dubai last week.
[…]
One of the biggest problems facing the industry – and autonomous ships – is that it is not yet fully equipped to handle cyber crime, he added.
“_The industry is in very poor shape when it comes to cyber security. It needs awareness among senior management – this is not an IT issue.”
[…]
Mr Jensen also warned ports and terminals that they were likely to be in the vanguard of cyber attacks.
Noting several attacks in the past few weeks alone, that took out major sites such as Netflix and Twitter, as well as a telecoms company in Libya and another on domestic routers in Germany, he emphasised the vulnerability of ports, particularly via the Internet of Things.
[…]
Companies should be looking to prevent crime at the design stage of technology – and simply encryption, understanding the risk and training would be critical.
“Companies need to work cyber defence into their business processes,” he advised.
“Don’t automate any deals worth more than $1m, for example. Improve staff awareness and technical know-how. It’s not expensive – companies already have most of the tools they need. It’s about training and configuring networks slightly differently.”
#Georges_Hobeika for Swarovski A #Bridal gown inspired by the Gardens of Versailles - Bridal
▻http://www.orientpalms.com/Georges-Hobeika-for-Swarovski
Georges Hobeika was the only designer from Lebanon to participate as a guest Designer of Honor for Swarovski’s “Sparkling Couture Initiative”, held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Georges Hobeika joined some of the finest couturiers from the Middle East, Asia and Australia during a special exhibition to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Swarovski. There was couture-inspired creations ranging from Bridal wear, Ethnic wear, Evening wear and Modest wear, as well as statement jewelry and (...) #mode 
Al-Arabiya manager accused of being bribed by royals
▻https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161123-al-arabiya-manager-accused-of-being-bribed-by-royals
Another document, leaked from August 2015, showed that Al-Dakhil’s worth had risen to nearly 94 million Saudi riyals ($25 million), 11 times higher than it was only six months earlier, before his appointment.
Around that same period, Al-Dakhil, who is also close to the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Zayid purchased a property in Dubai for 17 million UAE Dirhams ($4.6 million).
Middle East Observer has also received documents that Al-Dakhil was bribed by the UAE regime between 2012-2014, adding that he had been “groomed” prior to his appointment at Al-Arabiya.
US arms Syrian Islamists with surface-to-air missiles - World Socialist Web Site
▻http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/11/23/syri-n23.html
US arms Syrian Islamists with surface-to-air missiles
By Bill Van Auken
23 November 2016
A US-backed Islamist militia in southern Syria has been armed with portable surface-to-air missiles, so-called manpads. These weapons are capable of shooting down Syrian government aircraft as well as Russian warplanes, which have played a prominent role in providing air support to the Syrian army against the Al Qaeda-linked “rebels.”
The group, the Ansar al-Islam Front, exhibited the weapons, SA-7 Strela-2 missiles, in a video it posted on Sunday, claiming that it had “a good number” of them in its possession. The video, produced by a Dubai-based Syrian opposition propaganda network, shows the Islamists un-crating, assembling and testing the manpads.
Crisis and the meaning of money
▻http://africasacountry.com/2016/11/crisis-and-the-meaning-of-money
Robert Mugabe Junior has the word “melanin” in his Instagram biography. I discovered this when I went to his profile, a little indulgence I allow myself every few weeks to see just how well the eldest son of our 92-year-old leader is living in Dubai. This time, his profile was locked. Maybe someone had told […]
Get Canada Permanent Residency Under Skilled Category
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Get Canada Permanent Residency Under Skilled Category Canada is badly in need of skilled foreign professionals and workers. If you are skilled and wouldn’t mind migration to Canada from Dubai, this could be your opportunity. You are welcome to contact us at Sync Visas, your preferred licensed Canada immigration agents in Dubai, to guide you […]
About Australian Permanent Residency
▻http://www.permitsandvisas.com/about-australian-permanent-residency
About Australian Permanent Residency Apply for General Skilled Migration for Australia with Permits and Visas Immigration Consultants in Dubai. Our team of visa experts will assess your qualification if you meet the basic criteria for Australian immigration from Dubai UAE or anywhere else in the world. Australia is in need to skilled professionals to help […]
Spies for Hire
▻https://theintercept.com/2016/10/24/darkmatter-united-arab-emirates-spies-for-hire
In July, Simone Margaritelli, an Italian security researcher, boarded a Boeing 777 in Rome headed for Dubai, a city now billing itself as a tech startup hub. He had a big job interview with a new, well-funded cybersecurity company called DarkMatter, whose self-described mission is to “safeguard the most complex organizations,” from government to the private sector, by preventing and fighting malicious cyberattacks and providing secure methods of communication — defensive cybersecurity, rather (...)
Immigration Through Australia SkillSelect
▻http://www.permitsandvisas.com/immigration-through-australia-skillselect
Immigration Through Australia SkillSelect If you are planning immigration to Australia from Dubai as a skilled migrant, one of the immigration system you should familiarize yourself with is SkillSelect. SkillSelect, if you don’t already know, is an online service that is essentially created for the purpose of managing Australia’s Skilled Migration Programme. In essence, everyone […]
LALEH KHALILI /// The Geopolitics of Maritime Transportation in the Middle East « ARCHIPELAGO | The Podcast Platform of the Funambulist
▻http://the-archipelago.net/2015/05/18/laleh-khalili-the-geopolitics-of-maritime-transportation-in-the-mid
THE GEOPOLITICS OF MARITIME TRANSPORTATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Conversation recorded with Laleh Khalili in London on May 18, 2015
▻https://soundcloud.com/the-archipelago/laleh-khalili-the-geopolitics-of-maritime-transportation-in-the-middle-e
This conversation with Laleh Khalili evolves around her on-going research about the geopolitics at work in the capitalist and military ship transportation around the Arabian Peninsula. This interview is structured in a geographical manner, reproducing the trip Laleh accomplished in February 2015 on a container ship between Malta and Jabal Ali (Dubai’s container port). We first address the politics of the ship itself, before going through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman, the Hormuz Strait, and the Persian Gulf, to finally end on the narrow Iraqi shores.
Laleh Khalili is a professor of Middle East Politics at SOAS, University of London. She is the author of Heroes and Martyrs of Palestine: The Politics of National Commemoration (Cambridge 2007) and Time in the Shadows: Confinement in Counterinsurgencies (Stanford 2013), the editor of Modern Arab Politics (Routledge 2008) and co-editor (with Jillian Schwedler) of Policing and Prisons in the Middle East: Formations of Coercion (Hurst/Oxford 2010).
Canada Immigration Process from Dubai
▻http://www.permitsandvisas.com/canada-immigration-process-dubai
Canada Immigration Process from Dubai Canada has become successful in welcoming millions of skilled individuals and families aiming to have a better future and get more career opportunities in Canada. Canada is second largest country in the world with 10 provinces and 3 territories. It is one of the richest countries in the world. Immigrants […]
Which Canadian Skilled Visa is Right For You
▻http://www.permitsandvisas.com/which-canadian-skilled-visa-is-right-for-you
Which Canadian Skilled Visa is Right For You Almost every migrant is looking for skilled migration visa to Canada. Often, such come across two terms in their quest: Quebec Skilled Worker Visa and Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Visa. Many of the prospective migrants consider the two Dubai Canadian visas to mean the same, but they […]
UAE likely to be building a naval facility in Eritrea | IHS Jane’s 360 (article d’avril 2016)
▻http://www.janes.com/article/59561/uae-likely-to-be-building-a-naval-facility-in-eritrea
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) appears to be constructing a new port next to Assab International Airport in Eritrea, which could become its first permanent military base in a foreign country.
Satellite imagery shows rapid progress has been made since work began sometime after September 2015. A square of coastline measuring about 250x250 m has already been excavated and dredged, while a pier and/or breakwater is being constructed and already extends over 700 m from the original coastline.
[…]
Eritrea has little need of a new port in the Assab area, given that the existing one 12 km to the southeast of the construction site was rarely visited until the UAE’s navy began to use it last year to support the country’s military operation in Yemen.
IHS Jane’s has published satellite imagery showing most of the naval vessels at the existing port since 21 September 2015 have been Emirati landing ships. IHS Maritime & Trade data show that many of the commercial vessels that docked there over the same period came from the UAE’s naval base at Fujairah. This indicated that the UAE is using Assab as a logistics hub where supplies are transferred from commercial to naval vessels for onward shipment to Yemen.
En complément de :
UAE’s Swift hit by anti-ship missile | IHS Jane’s 360
►http://www.janes.com/article/64274/uae-s-swift-hit-by-anti-ship-missile
Swift was chartered by the US Navy from 2008-2013 and arrived in the UAE in July 2015. IHS Maritime & Trade data shows it has made numerous voyages between the Eritrean port of Assab to Aden and Al-Mukalla since then.
L’info de février 2016 sur l’utilisation du port d’Assab.
UAE naval vessels using Eritrea’s Assab port | IHS Jane’s 360
▻http://www.janes.com/article/58194/uae-naval-vessels-using-eritrea-s-assab-port
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Navy is using the port of Assab in Eritrea, Airbus Defence and Space satellite imagery confirms.
Landing ships that can be identified as UAE naval assets can be seen at the port in three separate satellite images.
Taken on 5 February, the most recent image shows a landing ship that is approximately 80 m long and has a helicopter pad on its stern. This or a sister ship can also be seen at Assab in imagery taken on 21 September 2015.
Although a ship matching this description has not previously been identified in open sources as being in service with any navy, the same vessel or a sister ship can be seen in Google Earth satellite imagery of the UAE’s new naval base in Dubai on two different dates.
Another three landing ships can be seen at Assab in the 5 February imagery. One is approximately 60 m [check with Sean] in length and does not match any known to be operated by the UAE Navy, suggesting a second navy may also be using Assab.
The other two are identical to the 64 m landing ships operated by the UAE. It is possible these are Kuwaiti naval vessels as Abu Dhabi Ship Building delivered two to Kuwait as well as three to the UAE.
However, imagery taken on 7 November 2015 show three of the 64 m landing ships at Assab, meaning at least one must be operated by the UAE Navy. One of these landing ships can be seen in the 21 September image.
The 7 November image also shows that the high-speed roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) catamaran Swift 1 (IMO: 9283928) was also present. This vessel operated by the US Military Sealift Command between 2003-2013. The website of its manufacturer, Incat, said in 2015 that it was being operated by the UAE’s National Marine Dredging Company.
Analyse stratégique (début septembre 2016)
West of Suez for the United Arab Emirates
▻http://warontherocks.com/2016/09/west-of-suez-for-the-united-arab-emirates
Bases on the Horn of Africa serve Emirati power projection ambitions.
Tiens sur gg:maps, ce pourrait bien être des chars Leclerc (humanitaires of course) dans le haut du côté gauche du carré de véhicules sur parc.
▻https://www.google.fr/maps/@13.0695786,42.6568624,19z/data=!3m1!1e3
▻http://english.almanar.com.lb/46473
Saudi Stock Market Falls Sharply on Weak Oil, Austerity Steps
Saudi Arabia’s stock market fell sharply for a second straight day on Wednesday, leading the entire region down, in response to weak oil prices and government austerity measures.
The Saudi equities index, which had retreated 3.8 percent on Tuesday, sank a further 3.4 percent to 5,534 points, its lowest finish since Jan. 21. It has tumbled 19.5 percent from a peak in April.
Trading volume climbed to a two-month high as the index fell below technical support on the February low of 5,551 points, though it closed off its intra-day low. It has stronger support at the January low of 5,349 points.
Brent oil futures had fallen about 3 percent to around $46 a barrel on Tuesday after Iran rejected an offer from Saudi Arabia to limit its oil output in exchange for Riyadh cutting supply.
This hit petrochemical stocks, with Saudi Basic Industries sliding 4.0 percent on Wednesday. PetroRabigh outperformed the sector, dropping only 2.1 percent, after saying it would proceed eventually with a rights issue that has been delayed since 2015.
The Saudi insurance sector also suffered after the government said this week that it would reduce bonuses and perks for public sector workers; insurance stocks are favored by local retail investors, who will have less disposable income because of the austerity drive.
“In Saudi Arabia it is very common to see an average public sector employee trading in the stock market, because someone from his family once made a fat profit – but those days are long gone now. They simply won’t have the financial flexibility with these austerity moves,” said a Jeddah-based broker.
Among other stocks directly exposed to consumer sentiment, travel agent Al Tayyar plunged 8.2 percent.
Some telecommunications firms and utilities, seen as defensive shares, performed relatively well and Zain Saudi was one of only four rising stocks, gaining 3.1 percent.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Dubai’s index fell 0.4 percent in thin trade as Emaar Properties lost 1.0 percent. Abu Dhabi dropped 0.5 percent with another real estate firm, Aldar Properties, falling 1.5 percent.
Qatar edged down only 0.1 percent, supported by a 1.2 percent gain by Industries Qatar.
In Egypt, the index dropped 0.5 percent in a broad-based decline. But textile producer Kabo jumped 10 percent in its highest trading volume since January after posting a 14 percent rise in net profit for the year to June 30.
Source: Reuters
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Looking for Jobs in Canada from Dubai Looking for jobs in Canada and don’t even know where to start from with the application. If this is you, then you should know that migrating across the world is one of the most exciting things anyone could do. However, this is a venture that requires adequate preparation in […]