Author: Steven Sahiounie

Russia’s exports of agricultural produce increased last year despite Western trade barriers, President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday. During a meeting with the country’s agriculture minister, Putin stated that Russia had enjoyed its largest-ever grain harvest in the previous crop year, of almost 158 million tons. In the current agricultural year, which ends on June 30, the country is expecting to export up to 60 million tons of grain, the president added. According to estimates by the Agriculture Ministry, Russia had already exported 40 million tons of grain as of March. In the last farming year, overall grain exports stood at just over…

Services and energy costs are driving consumer prices across the single currency area Inflation in the euro area increased for the first time in five months in April, surging to 7%, the European Union’s statistics office reported on Wednesday, confirming preliminary data. Eurostat said consumer prices had risen from 6.9% in March as higher services and energy costs offset a slowdown in food price growth. Services inflation, which is primarily driven by labor costs, accelerated to 5.2% in April from 5.1% in the previous month. Energy prices were up again after a slight decline in March. Food, alcohol and tobacco…

Consumer prices in Austria saw their highest annual increase last year since 1975 Austria’s consumer price inflation has continued to rise, accelerating to 9.7% in April on an annual basis, the national statistics office reported on Wednesday. According to Statistics Austria, the figure jumped from 9.2% in the previous month and was just below the 9.8% increase seen in a flash report published on May 2. Inflation harmonized to compare with other European Union countries also increased in April to 9.5%, up from 9.2% in March. The report indicated that utility bills saw a major spike of 14.7% year-on-year, followed…

The Group of Seven nations have agreed not to impose an almost complete embargo on exports to Russia, choosing instead to expand existing restrictions on key goods, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Leaders of the seven advanced economies had previously discussed the option of barring all exports to Moscow as part of Ukraine-related sanctions, with a few exemptions including medicines, agricultural goods and food. The latest draft of a statement that the G7 leaders are expected to adopt during their summit in Hiroshima, which started on Friday, reportedly does not include such a provision.…

Smaller Chinese refineries have hiked import volumes used for blending, the agency reports Supplies of fuel oil from Russia to China are expected to reach an all-time high of 350,000 barrels in May, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing Kpler ship-tracking data. According to the agency, smaller Chinese refineries have boosted purchases of fuel oil, which is commonly used for blending and is a less valuable part of the barrel than gasoline and diesel. Supplies of Russian fuel oil to China saw an upsurge after February, when a price cap on Russian petroleum products adopted by the EU and G7 came…

Following several preparatory meetings, the works of 32nd round of Council of the Arab League on the level of Summit kicks off on Friday in presence of 15 Leaders, Presidents, Kings and Princes of the Arab Countries, according to SANA correspondent in Jeddah. Before the start of the meeting, the Presidents and Leaders will meet at 02:00 o’clock to take the collective photo. The opening session of the summit meeting will be public. It will include a speech by Algeria, then the presidency of the session will be handed over to Saudi Arabia to deliver its speech and chair the…

A senior US administration official promises “a significant effort that will extensively restrict Russia’s access to goods that matter for its battlefield capabilities.” The United States eyes “significant” new sanctions targeting Russia on Friday, as President Joe Biden meets with fellow G7 leaders in Japan. G7 leaders are reportedly scheduled to convene in Japan on May 19 for three days to discuss updates on Russia and the war in Ukraine, environmental investments, economic security, and the Indo-Pacific region. A senior US administration official promised “a significant effort that will extensively restrict Russia’s access to goods that matter for its battlefield capabilities.” “It will…

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades target an illegal settlement with heavy gunfire. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – Beit Ummar Rapid Response Group in occupied Al-Khalil – confirmed that it targeted the “Karmei Tzur” illegal settlement with heavy gunfire, adding that its Resistance fighters safely withdrew from the scene. On Thursday evening, the Israeli Channel 12 reported that Israeli occupation forces arrested a 29-year-old Palestinian youth from Ramallah, under the pretext of attempting to carry out a shooting operation in occupied Al-Quds with an M16 weapon. Earlier today, a 14-year-old Palestinian child was wounded in the foot and shoulder by Israeli occupation gunfire in the Aida…

It is reported that after visiting the Arab League summit, the Ukrainian president will be arriving in Hiroshima to partake in the G7 summit via a US military aircraft. Reuters reported on Friday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is on his way aboard a French plane to attend the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia after an invitation from the host. The summit is scheduled to be held in Jeddah on Friday, where Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is reportedly expected to discuss with Zelenksy the Ukrainian conflict and means to end the war, mainly through dialogue between Moscow and Kiev. Riyadh…

After more than a year of warnings, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey says the U.K. is now experiencing a wage-price spiral despite 12 consecutive central bank interest rate hikes. “Some of the strength in core inflation [in the U.K.] reflects the indirect effects of higher energy prices,” Bailey said in a Wednesday speech. “But it also reflects second-round effects as the external shocks we have seen interact with the state of the domestic economy.” “As headline inflation falls, these second-round effects are unlikely to go away as quickly as they appeared.” These areas of persistence, he continued, include domestic wage…