Qatar Business

Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Stock Exchange, QSE, general index edged down 0.04 percent at the start of trading on Sunday, shedding 4.87 points to 11,224, compared to the previous session's closing. The market was weighed down by declines across four sectors, led by Transportation (-0.48 pecent), followed by Industrials (-0.32 percent), Banks and Financial Services (-0.12 percent), and Insurance (-0.10 percent). Meanwhile, the performance was positive for Telecoms (+0.22 percent), Real Estate (+0.21 percent), and Consumer Goods and Services (+0.19 percent). By 10:00 am, QSE reported a turnover of QAR 37.335 million, with 16.550 million shares traded in 2,011 transactions.

Middle East Business

Muscat: Non-oil exports in Oman rose during 2025 to almost OMR6.7bn, compared to OMR6.2bn in 2024, recording an increase of 7.5%. The Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) stated in its monthly report that re-export activities registered growth of 20.3%, rising from OMR1.708bn in 2024 to OMR2.056bn in 2025. Leading the Omani non-oil exports were products of the chemical industries and related industries, metals and their manufactured products, metallic goods, plastics, machinery, and electrical equipment. The past year witnessed a decline in the value of oil exports, which fell to OMR14.5bn billion compared to OMR17.1bn in 2024, registering a decrease of 15.2%, affected insofar as the average price of Omani oil dropped to $71 per barrel, compared to $80.8 per barrel in 2024. Total oil exports last year reached 307.9 million barrels compared to 308.4 million barrels in 2024, while the average daily oil production rose from 992.6 thousand barrels per day in 2024 to more than one million barrels per day in 2025. The value of Omani commodity exports during the past year amounted to OMR23.2bn, recording a decline of 7.1% from the 2024 level of OMR25bn, affected by the decrease in oil exports, whereas registered commodity imports rose by 2.7%, from OMR16.7bn to more than OMR17.1bn. Statistics indicated that the value of Oman’s trade exchange reached OMR40.4bn last year, compared to OMR41.7bn in 2024, affected by the decline in the value of oil exports

World Business

Doha, Qatar: Brent crude prices rose on Friday as investors worried about potential US military action, with President Donald Trump pressing Iran to halt nuclear weapons development. Brent crude futures settled at $71.76, and US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) finished at $66.39. For the week, Brent rose 5.9%, while WTI rose 5.6%, noted Al-Attiyah Foundation in its Weekly Energy Market Review. Meanwhile, the oil market shrugged off a US Supreme Court decision ruling unconstitutional Trump’s use of a law to levy tariffs in national emergencies. In the US, crude inventories dropped by 9 million barrels as refining utilisation and exports climbed, an Energy Information Administration report showed on Thursday. Markets were also considering the impact of ample supply, with talks of OPEC+ leaning towards a resumption in oil output increases from April. Asia spot liquefied natural gas held steady on Friday as tepid demand and high inventories during the Lunar New Year lull capped buying interest, though geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran offered some support. The average LNG price for March delivery into north-east Asia was $10.60 per million British thermal units, down from $10.65 per mmBtu the week before. Above-normal Northeast Asia temperatures will curb heating demand, while Japan’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa No. 6 reactor restart trims LNG use. In Europe, the Dutch TTF gas price settled at $11.50 per mmBtu on Friday, posting a weekly gain of 1.8%. Prices were supported by geopolitical tensions and continued pressure on underground gas storage levels, which are around 32% full, the lowest for this time of year since 2022.