Author: Steven Sahiounie

China’s exports grew 8.5% in April in U.S. dollar terms, marking a second-straight month of growth, while imports fell 7.9% compared with a year ago. Economists polled by Reuters estimated exports would rise 8% in April, while imports were forecast to remain unchanged. In March, imports declined 1.4% year-on-year while exports saw a surprise jump of 14.8%, government data showed. China’s trade surplus grew to $90.21 billion in April, up from the surplus of $88.2 billion in March. Softer trade data in April is likely to reflect “residual seasonality” after this year’s Lunar New Year, economists at Goldman Sachs said…

Information from the main department of Chinese customs indicates that trade exchange between Russia and China increased between January and April of this year by 41.3%, to reach $73.148 billion. The value of China’s exports to Russia during this time period amounted to $33.68 billion, 67.2% more than it was in the same period last year, while Russia’s exports to China increased by 24.8% to $39.462 billion. Last April, the volume of trade between the two countries amounted to 19.228 billion dollars, as Russia exported goods worth 9.606 billion dollars to China and imported goods worth 9.621 billion dollars. According…

Russian Chargé d’Affairs to Japan Gennady Ovechko said that cooperation between Russia and Japan in the energy sector is a rare example of sound thinking against the backdrop of Japanese support for sanctions against Russia. Ovechko indicated that Japan imported energy resources worth $11 billion from Russia in the past 2022. The Chargé d’Affaires added: “These are rare oases of common sense – cooperation is taking place in the fields of energy and fisheries. Last year, the export volume of Russian energy resources exceeded $11 billion. Russian exports in 2022 grew by 8.8%, reaching $15.38 billion, due to Mainly due…

US banks tightened their lending standards in the first months of this year in a trend they expect to continue over the course of 2023, according to a survey published by the Federal Reserve. The report, which is closely watched by Wall Street, comes as the financial sector witnesses fears related to the flight of deposits, on the back of the turmoil sparked by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March. In recent weeks, shares of medium-sized banks recorded significant declines, amid investors’ concern about repeating previous scenarios when the flight of deposits precipitated the collapse…

Oil giant Saudi Aramco announced that its profits in the first quarter of this year amounted to $31.88 billion, compared to $39.47 billion in the same quarter of last year. The company blamed the fall in its profits this year on lower global oil prices. Aramco made profits of $30.73 billion in the fourth quarter of last year. In March, Aramco reported profits of $161 billion last year, the highest annual profit ever for a publicly listed company, drawing criticism from activists amid concerns about climate change. These profits came as a result of higher energy prices after the start of…

The Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Mohammad Reza Farzin, announced that his country will host a conference next month to discuss removing the dollar from financial transactions and working on a multilateral monetary agreement. Farzin said today, Tuesday, that the Asian Financial Settlement Association (ACU) will hold its meetings soon in Tehran, and among its most prominent works is removing the dollar from transactions and working on a multi-monetary agreement. He pointed out that “since the beginning of the Iranian year (March 20, 2023), more than 11 billion and 840 million dollars of foreign currency have been allocated,…

The emergency reserve will soon hold only gold, Chinese yuan, and the ruble, as Moscow reduces its exposure to currencies of ‘unfriendly’ nations The volume of Russia’s National Wealth Fund (NWF) rose by 570 billion rubles ($7.3 billion) in April to nearly $155 billion, the Ministry of Finance reported on Friday. The NWF, which accumulates revenue from oil exports, was created to support the national pension system and to help cover budget deficits when needed. According to the ministry, as of May 1 the size of the fund was equivalent to 8.3% of Russia’s projected gross domestic product for 2023.…

Other destinations have taken over Russia’s bullion trade after the G7 and EU banned imports from the sanctioned country A number of countries are snapping up Russian gold bullion after Western governments closed their markets as part of Ukraine-related sanctions on Moscow, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The G7, EU and Switzerland, a major gold hub with a traditionally neutral stance, banned Russian gold imports last summer in an effort to damage the country’s $20 billion gold industry. Prior to the sanctions, London was the top destination for Russian gold. Now, since major gold-buying banks such as JPMorgan Chase and…

New measures may ban vessels from accessing EU ports due to their alleged attempts to circumvent anti-Moscow sanctions Brussels has proposed to prohibit ships that have violated sanctions on Russian oil from entering EU ports and waterways, as part of a further and broader package of penalties that the bloc is expected to impose on the country over the military operation in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The European Commission reportedly cited a “sharp increase in deceptive practices and related environmental risks” by vessels trying to bypass the G7 price cap and an embargo on imports of Russian crude to the bloc.…

While the Yemeni people were taking their last breaths, the last remaining living vein was beating again with the opening of the Hodeidah seaports. At the same time, the Yemeni Red Sea Ports Corporation is being rehabilitated at Hodeidah port to meet the upcoming challenges. At a meeting held at the main office of the Yemeni Red Sea Ports Foundation in Al-Hudaydah, it was discussed how well administrative, technical, and field responsibilities were being carried out. Additionally, it included the procedures for receiving ships and their cargo to enhance navigational traffic. On April 7, the meeting was presided over by…