Oil regains ground; Iran restarts oil exports to Afghanistan

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Updated 23 August 2021
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Oil regains ground; Iran restarts oil exports to Afghanistan

  • The price of gasoline in Afghanistan reached $900 per ton last week

RIYADH: Brent crude climbed $3.27, or 5 percent, to $68.45 a barrel by 10:40 a.m. ET (1640 GMT) after touching its lowest since May 21 at $64.60 earlier in the session.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for October delivery rose $3.31, or 5.3 percent, to $65.45.

As prices of oil and copper rebounded, the dollar slipped from multi-month highs amid doubts about the course of US monetary policy. Currencies of oil exporters, including the Colombian peso and Brazilian real, firmed about 0.4 percent each, taking cues from an over 4.5 percent jump in crude prices.

The main US oil contract soared during trading on Monday as investors were comforted about Chinese demand as no new local COVID-19 cases were signaled in the top crude-consuming country.

Iran restarted exports of gasoline and gasoil to Afghanistan a few days ago, following a request from the Taliban, Iran’s Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union said on Monday.

The price of gasoline in Afghanistan reached $900 per ton last week as many Afghans drove out of cities.

Some 150 Extinction Rebellion activists blocked access to the Norwegian energy ministry in Oslo on Monday as part of an ongoing 10-day campaign to protest against the Nordic country’s oil industry.


Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,847

Updated 25 February 2026
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Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,847

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Wednesday, losing 58.51 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 10,847.93.

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.78 billion ($1 billion), as 73 of the listed stocks advanced, while 187 retreated.

The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 7.09 points or 0.48 percent, to close at 1,472.98.

The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 178.75 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 22,916.83. This comes as 30 of the listed stocks advanced, while 37 retreated.

The best-performing stock was the Power and Water Utility Co. for Jubail and Yanbu, with its share price surging by 8.47 percent to SR31.24.

Other top performers included Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.13 percent to SR53.70, and Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Co., which saw a 4.58 percent increase to SR137.

On the downside, the worst performer of the day was CHUBB Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., whose share price fell by 5.14 percent to SR17.53.

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. and Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co. also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 4.87 percent and 4.43 percent to SR4.88 and SR181.40, respectively.

On the announcement front, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. announced its annual financial results for 2025, with sales dropping 3.06 percent year-on-year to SR8.45 billion. The company also recorded a net loss of SR893.86 million.

In a Tadawul statement, the company said the net loss and decline in annual sales were driven by a drop in average selling prices, despite higher sales volumes.