Latest news with #geopolitics
Zawya
an hour ago
- Business
- Zawya
Jordan: Gold prices surge amid international tensions, inflation pressures
AMMAN — Gold is once again dominating international asset rankings, driven by rising geopolitical tensions and persistent inflationary pressures. In Jordan, where gold is both an economic asset and a cultural symbol, the international surge is resonating across local markets, according to stakeholders. As of June 16, 2025, the price of 24-carat gold in the Kingdom reached JD79.3 per gramme for selling and JD76.9 for buying, according to the General Syndicate for Owners of Jewellery. The most popular type among Jordanians, 21-carat gold, was priced at JD69.2 for selling and JD66.7 for buying. Eighteen-carat gold recorded a selling price of JD61.4 and a buying price of JD56.9, while 14-carat gold stood at JD46.6 and JD42.0, respectively. Traders noted these figures reflect a steady upward trend in prices over the past month. Jewellers across the Kingdom have also reported a shift in consumer behaviour. 'Some customers are buying now, fearing prices will climb further, but many remain cautious,' said Ahmed Ghannam, a gold merchant in Amman's Sweifieh market. He added that demand typically rises during the wedding season, but this year it has moderated amid uncertainty. The ongoing escalation between Iran and Israel is among the key global developments driving the price increase, Ghannam noted. Military confrontations and fears of a regional spillover have injected volatility into international markets, spurring investors toward traditional safe havens. 'Gold prices tend to surge when political instability looms,' said economist Waseem Hussein. 'The Iranian–Israeli tensions have amplified fears of a broader regional conflict. In such times, gold becomes more than a commodity; it becomes a form of insurance.' For local buyers, the moment presents a difficult choice. 'I'm afraid of missing out if prices go even higher,' said Amman resident Suad Jamal. 'But at the same time, gold prices are too high.' With forecasts from banks like Goldman Sachs projecting gold prices to reach $3,700 per ounce by year's end, both economists and consumers are expected to keep a close eye on the gold market in the months ahead. © Copyright The Jordan Times. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Zawya
3 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Jordan: Energy Ministry activates fuel contingency plans to offset gas shortage
AMMAN — Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh on Tuesday reassured members of the Energy Sector Partnership Council that the Kingdom's electrical system remains stable and secure, despite the suspension of natural gas supplies, Jordan's primary source for electricity generation, due to the ongoing regional escalation. Speaking during a meeting with the council to discuss bylaws under the General Electricity Law No. 10 of 2025, Kharabsheh said countries across the region are facing mounting challenges amid worsening geopolitical tensions. He noted that Jordan has activated contingency plans to ensure uninterrupted supply, highlighting the pivotal role of domestic energy resources in supporting the Kingdom's power sector, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. The minister said that Jordan imports around 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from Egypt, adding that the government is currently incurring additional costs to meet energy demands due to the crisis. To address the shortfall, Kharabsheh said the Kingdom is replenishing its reserves through diversified supply chains of diesel and other petroleum derivatives to support electricity generation, stressing that Jordanian power plants are equipped to switch to alternative fuel sources while maintaining grid efficiency. He also emphasised that the ministry was closely monitoring regional developments and coordinating with all relevant entities to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply across all sectors. The minister and council members reviewed the draft bylaws stemming from the General Electricity Law No. 10 of 2025, which includes two bylaws and 14 detailed instructions. He noted that the new legislation boosts the consumer storage system, contributing to enhanced energy supply security. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission, the National Electric Power Company, Jordan Electric Power Company, Samra Electric Power Company, Irbid District Electricity Company, Electricity Distribution Company, and the Central Electricity Generating Company. Also present were representatives from the Jordan Strategy Forum, the Jordan Chamber of Industry, the National Energy Research Centre, EDAMA Association for Energy, Water and Environment, the Jordanian Renewable Energy Companies Association, the Jordan Engineers Association, and companies that have signed agreements with the ministry in the field of green hydrogen. Also on Tuesday senior official at the Ministry of Energy said that relevant government entities were taking necessary measures to ensure a continuous supply and sustainable stock of alternative fuel for up to 20 days, as part of efforts to offset a shortage in natural gas used for electricity generation in the Kingdom. The official also stressed that all concerned authorities are assessing the situation and its developments, both immediate and long-term, to protect Jordan's energy security. © Copyright The Jordan Times. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Israeli strikes one more challenge for new China-Iran rail corridor
Between the US restoring 'maximum pressure' on Iran to deny it a path to nuclear weapons and Israel's air strikes , a goods train from China quietly arrived at a dry port near Tehran, making the first delivery under the new China-Iran rail corridor project. It had travelled 10,400km (6,500 miles) from the Chinese city of Xian along a trade corridor aimed at slashing delivery times to 15 days, from 30 to 40 days by sea. This is an ambitious route, traversing Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and may eventually connect to Africa, the Persian Gulf littoral states and Europe. The rail corridor reflects deepening China-Iran ties amid an increasingly fractured and complex geopolitical environment. Its launch comes as the United States reportedly mulls intercepting and inspecting Iranian oil tankers at sea to cut off its oil sales. For the US and Israel – which see Iran's nuclear ambitions as an existential threat – Tehran's deeper integration into Eurasian infrastructure is alarming. Critically, it would enable Iran to evade sanctions, bolster its regional influence and advance broader ambitions, including its contentious nuclear programme The overland route allows Iran to continue its oil and mineral exports to China and other markets. By diversifying trade routes and deepening ties with Eurasian partners, Iran boosts its economic resilience and reduces reliance on vulnerable maritime channels, including the Strait of Hormuz , a strategic strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and one of the world's most important oil transit chokepoints. The corridor also positions Iran as a central transit hub. By integrating rail into the land and sea networks, Iran aims to connect China and Central Asia with Europe via Turkey. 09:40 Violence at sea: how armed attacks on the high seas affect mariners Violence at sea: how armed attacks on the high seas affect mariners
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Stocks are back near record highs. Investors still aren't buying this rally.
Stocks came under pressure Tuesday but continue to hover near record highs, staging a ferocious comeback since their April lows. But despite the rally, investor sentiment remains cautious as markets contend with a wave of uncertainty ranging from Trump's tariff rollout and its inflationary ripple effects to the Fed's murky rate-cutting path and, most recently, renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Even as consumer sentiment has begun to rebound from its early-year lows, investor positioning tells a different story. Data from market research firms SentimenTrader, Ned Davis Research, and Vanda, cited by Charles Schwab, show that equity exposure remains below historical averages, with mutual funds, hedge funds, and retail traders slowly rebuilding their risk positions. That caution was echoed in Bank of America's latest Global Fund Manager Survey released Tuesday, which showed a sharp drop in risk appetite with a net 28% of investors taking a more-cautious-than-normal level of risk in their portfolios. The survey also revealed that equity allocations remain well below average, currently sitting one standard deviation below their long-term norm. However, that caution, some strategists argue, may be more of a tailwind than a headwind for stocks. "Sentiment can still be negative even with stocks back at all-time highs," Kevin Gordon, senior investment strategist at Charles Schwab, told Yahoo Finance. Gordon described the recent rally as "definitely still hated," but a dynamic that's not unusual following sharp, unexpected sell-offs. Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat, wrote in a recent client note that investors may be overlooking a stronger investment backdrop compared to early 2025, with more clarity on trade and tax policy and a potentially more dovish Fed. "We're so close to all-time highs, and yet investors are mostly negative still," he said. "This remains one of the most-hated rallies." Strategists across Wall Street have also grown more bullish on stocks in recent weeks. No fewer than 11 Wall Street firms lowered their S&P 500 targets amid the market sell-off in April, but at least eight of those have since raised their bets on where the index ends 2025. The median S&P 500 target now sits at 6,100, signaling further upside potential. While investors are participating in the rebound, Schwab's Gordon said the gains have been concentrated in sectors outside of Big Tech, which has led the bull market over the past two years. He called out strength in commercial services like logistics and airlines, while more economically sensitive sectors like freight and goods production continue to lag. According to Gordon, that points to a more selective rally and could be a contrarian signal that stocks still have room to run. "The pain trade," he added, "is probably still supportive for the equity market to go a little bit higher." Allie Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
5 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Oil Jumps After Trump Calls for Tehran Evacuation
00:00 It is very tricky to sort of weave through all of the headlines that are coming through. But for the most part, we have seen oil move dramatically higher on Friday. Yesterday, there was a bit of a relief, I guess, because things didn't escalate even further as far as energy infrastructure is concerned. How much geopolitical tailwinds you think is actually priced in to where Brent is trading right now, Anthony? Yeah, I mean, I think this movement in the oil price is all geopolitical premium. So as you see it going up and down, that that is going to be what it is. So where we started before this was we were looking at prices around the 60, 65 realm. So, you know, we're talking about roughly $10 higher than than where we were kind of last week going into this. Now, we have seen that movement going up and down. And I think we are going to continue to see that volatility as the market reacts to headlines as the headline comes out. They're very reactive to the geopolitical issues as the market and traders then look and see what the actual implications are for supply and for the oil price. So we haven't seen that come through yet. So at present, you know where we are now around $74. I think what I when I spoke on television yesterday was around 75. You know, we're not at interruption levels yet. So people are not traders are not concerned about the interruption of supply. We're just kind of reacting on those headlines. We did see that big move higher at the start of trading yesterday on those headlines from the weekend that the first strikes were starting to hit some energy infrastructure. However, that hasn't been the key production or exporting infrastructure that Iran needs. People have been talking about the Trump pump. That's that expression I've been reading a lot and comments over the last couple of days because what OPEC's did was bring forward the supply, the production to the market in a way that actually surprised market participants. And now people are saying that if they hadn't done that, then oil prices would be trading a lot higher than where they are right now. Do you think there is perhaps somewhat of a political element to the Opec+ decision making that took place in the run up to these events? I mean, of course, when you are talking about governments getting together and deciding on these these big issues, they are there is some element of politics. And that sort of fact will tell you that they're looking very much at the fundamentals of the market, but they are a group of governments that come together. So even between OPEC themselves, there's a lot of politics in terms of keeping the group together. So that decision was based a lot on politics around keeping the group together, because countries like the UAE, which have a lot of spare capacity and have invested a lot of money in that spare capacity, want to get that oil to the market. So we saw this even as long as a year ago when Opec+ decided to start putting in place this plan to increase barrels. That was a political issue to keep cohesion. And now we're seeing it. OPEC is saying that this round was caused because they saw lower stockpiles because the market could take it. Well, what we were looking at up until last week was the market could take it until about the first half. And then we were going a very week. And now we've got this geopolitical concern in there. So those barrels are helping. But OPEC still has a lot of spare capacity that they could still bring on. Of course, they're not going to be complaining about the higher price Trump might be, but this is out of anybody's control right now, as we were actually these headlines. And if the conflict does escalate, then things could go even higher. If and that's a big if, if those supplies impacted and production and export facilities are hit.
