Iraq Economic News and Points To Ponder Tuesday Evening 9-15-26

Oil Rises On Saudi Supply Disruption Concerns

2026-09-15 01:32    Shafaq News   Oil prices rose on Tuesday as concerns over supply disruptions persisted after attacks on Saudi Arabian energy infrastructure left the kingdom's East-West pipeline offline and cast doubt on ​efforts to ease shipping risks in the Gulf.

Brent crude futures rose $1.37, or 1.3%, to $107.05 ‌a barrel at 0406 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.53, or 1.51%, at $102.92 a barrel. Both benchmarks rose more than 1% in the previous session.

Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen launched fresh attacks on Saudi Arabia on Monday, while ​Gulf Arab states postponed planned discussions with Iran, fuelling concerns that the Middle East conflict ​could widen and disrupt global oil supplies.

The Houthis carried out a missile and drone ⁠attack on the Khamis Mushait military airbase in southern Saudi Arabia, hitting aircraft hangars, radar systems, ​runways and ammunition depots in retaliation for Saudi strikes in Yemen.

This followed attacks on Friday on Saudi Arabia, ​which Riyadh blamed on Iranian-backed fighters in Iraq, that disrupted the country's East-West pipeline, which allows oil exports to bypass the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

"Oil traders are treating every fresh attack or infrastructure hit as incremental supply risk, while ​staying highly sensitive to any sign that the East-West pipeline or Hormuz flows could normalise," said Tim ​Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

Commodity vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to fewer than 10 transits ‌a ⁠day over the weekend, from a 10-day average of 14, raising concerns over a route that typically carried about one-fifth of global oil supplies before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28.

Saudi Arabia could begin to exhaust oil available for export within days unless it restores operations on the East-West pipeline, ​potentially removing as much as ​4% of global oil ⁠supply from the market, according to Saudi buyers and traders.

The world's biggest exporter has used the pipeline to reroute around 4 million barrels per day — around ​4% of global supply — to the port of Yanbu on the Red ​Sea.

"Plenty of uncertainty ⁠remains over the extent of damage and the duration of the outage for the East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia. Prices are likely to remain well supported until we get clarity," ING analysts said in a note.

Separately, ⁠President ​Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Kyiv was ready to support ​a U.S. proposal for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire on energy sites only if Washington could ensure Moscow was genuinely ready to end ​its war on Ukraine.   (REUTERS)

https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Oil-rises-on-Saudi-supply-disruption-concerns

Basrah Crudes Slip Despite Benchmark Gains

2026-09-15 02:31 Shafaq News- Basrah   Iraq’s Basrah crude declined more than 0.5% on Tuesday, amid gains in benchmark crude futures.

Basrah Heavy crude fell by 53 cents, or 0.55%, to $95.58 per barrel, while Basrah Medium crude slipped by 53 cents, or 0.53%, to settle at $98.88 per barrel.

Brent crude futures rose by $1.37, or 1.3%, to $107.05 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures gained $1.53, or 1.51%, to $102.92 per barrel

https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Basrah-crudes-slip-despite-benchmark-gains

Gold Holds Steady Ahead Of Fed Decision

 2026-09-15 03:15   Shafaq News   Gold held steady ​on Tuesday after touching a more than one-month low in the previous ‌session, as investors geared up for the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision for clues on the future path of monetary policy.

Spot gold was little changed at $4,302.13 per ounce, as of 0510 GMT, after ​hitting its lowest point since August 7 on Monday.

U.S. gold futures were ​down 0.2% at $4,341.70.

The U.S. central bank will announce its policy decision at 1800 ⁠GMT on Wednesday following the end of a two-day meeting. Financial markets are betting ​heavily that Fed policymakers will lift their benchmark rate a quarter of a percentage ​point to a 3.75%-4.00% range.

"How Fed Chair Kevin Warsh frames that hike will matter more than the hike itself for gold... If he casts it as the start of a meeting-by-meeting tightening cycle, that ​would be a hit to gold and to risk assets overall," IG market analyst ​Tony Sycamore said.

"If instead he signals a preference for a more measured pace, that would prove ‌somewhat supportive ⁠for risk sentiment and for gold."

Though seen as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical risks, gold often loses appeal when rates increase as they raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Data on Friday showed U.S. consumer prices accelerated in August, while a key ​measure of underlying inflation ​posted its largest ⁠increase in four months.

On the geopolitical front, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched a fresh wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia and were digging into ​positions on the western coast of Yemen along the Red Sea. ​Oil prices ⁠rose on concerns over supply disruptions.

Meanwhile, U.S. 10-year Treasury yields hit 5% on Monday for the first time since October 2023. The milestone is a threshold that analysts say could ripple ⁠through ​the U.S. economy and threaten the bull market in ​stocks by denting the relative appeal of U.S. equities.

Spot silver steadied at $63.25, platinum gained 0.7% at $1,770.81 and palladium ​fell 0.4% to $1,288.25.   (REUTERS)

https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Gold-holds-steady-ahead-of-Fed-decision

French Exports To Iraq Hit $184M In H1 2026

2026-09-15 Shafaq News- Baghdad/ Paris   French exports to Iraq reached about $184 million in the first half of 2026, data from the International Trade Centre (ITC) showed on Tuesday.

Pharmaceutical and medical products led French exports to Iraq during the six-month period at $27.3 million, followed by cereal-, flour-, starch- and milk-based food preparations at about $22 million. Cosmetics and skincare products totaled $10.4 million.

Electrical control and distribution equipment accounted for about $14.2 million, while perfumes and aromatic mixtures reached $6.8 million. Spirits and other alcoholic beverages totaled $5.6 million, and milk and cream $5.1 million.

Other exports included medical imaging and related equipment worth about $3.6 million, tractors at $3.3 million, and gas, liquid and electricity meters at $2.2 million.

France also exported electric batteries, cheese, yogurt, smartphones and other products to Iraq.

Exports totaled $78 million in the first quarter before rising to $106 million in the second, an increase of $28 million, or about 35.9%.

https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/French-exports-to-Iraq-hit-184M-in-H1-2026  

Amman Industrial Exports To Iraq Reach $1B

2026-09-15 11:19    Shafaq News- Amman  Exports from the Amman Chamber of Industry to Iraq rose 26.2% in the first eight months of 2026 to about 769 million Jordanian dinars (≈ $1B), up from 609 million dinars (≈ $858.9M) during the same period last year.

Data from the chamber showed that Iraq ranked as the second-largest export market during the same period, behind India at 779 million dinars (≈ $1B). The United States ranked third with 625 million dinars (≈ $881.5M), followed by Saudi Arabia with 577 million dinars (≈ $813.8M).

Overall exports reached 5.263 billion dinars (about $7.42B) in the first eight months of this year, compared with 4.822 billion dinars (about $6.8B) during the same period in 2025, an increase of 9.2%.

https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Amman-industrial-exports-to-Iraq-reach-1B