LONDON: The pound on Friday gave back some of the gains it made the day before as investors reassessed whether British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had made any progress in convincing the European Union to renegotiate the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s comments on Thursday that a solution to the Irish border question post-Brexit could be found before Oct. 31, the deadline for Britain to leave the EU, triggered a sharp rally in the pound.
But many analysts said the comments reflected market positioning rather than any confidence Britain and the EU would renegotiate their agreement to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
“The market is very short and that is naturally going to make the market very sensitive to any news (that makes them think)...have we got this wrong?,” said Jane Foley, a strategist at Rabobank.
“I’ve not read an awful lot into these moves,” she said, adding that thin summer liquidity had exacerbated this week’s volatility.
Sterling fell 0.5% to $1.2197 on Friday, retreating from the 3-week high hit on Thursday.
Versus euro the pound was down 0.4% on the day at 90.770 pence.
Sterling falls as doubts about Brexit backstop hopes grow
Sterling falls as doubts about Brexit backstop hopes grow
- Sterling fell 0.5% to $1.2197 on Friday, retreating from the 3-week high hit on Thursday
- Angela Merkel previously suggested a solution to the Irish border question could be found
Oman, India deepen economic ties with new trade, maritime deals
JEDDAH: Oman and India signed a series of agreements aimed at deepening trade, investment and maritime cooperation during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Muscat.
The deals include an executive program, a Joint Maritime Vision Document and four memorandums of understanding spanning agriculture, skills development, and innovation, as well as scientific research, and cooperation between business chambers, the Oman News Agency reported.
The agreements come as bilateral trade rose to $10.61 billion in 2024-25 from $8.95 billion a year earlier, driven by stronger energy flows and expanding non-oil commerce.
Oman is among India’s key trading partners, ranking as its 29th largest export market and 25th largest import source in 2024-25, while India was Oman’s fourth largest source of non-oil imports and third largest market for non-oil exports.
“Additionally, four MoUs were signed covering cooperation in maritime heritage and museums, scientific research, innovation, and skills development, agriculture and its related sectors and an MOU between Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Indian Industry,” the ONA report stated.
The documents were signed on the Omani side by Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi, Oman’s Ambassador to India Issa bin Saleh Al-Shibani, and Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Zakariya bin Abdullah Al-Saadi.
India was represented by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, India’s Ambassador to Oman Godavarthi Venkata Srinivas, and the Confederation of Indian Industry Director General Chandrajit Banerjee.
Al-Saadi explained that the signing of the MoU with the CII aims to activate cooperation across various economic sectors.
He added that this will be carried out through various measures in the next phase, including exchanging joint trade delegations, targeting key sectors for investment, and attracting Indian investors to Oman, noting that the MoU involves organizing events and exhibitions to promote the products and services of Omani companies in the Indian market.
Banerjee stated that the MoU signed by the CII with the OCCI will contribute to expanding partnerships between Oman and India in various investment, commercial, and economic fields.
He added that there are many promising opportunities between the two sides in areas such as education, technology, industry, infrastructure, services, and tourism, expressing his aspiration for further close work with the Omani side.
