Paris (France) (AFP) – Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war:
– **WTO says worst trade disruption in 80 years**
The global trading system is experiencing the “worst disruptions in the past 80 years,” World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned Thursday at the opening of the WTO ministerial conference. “The world order and the multilateral system we used to know has irrevocably changed,” she said, adding: “We cannot deny the scale of the problems confronting the world today.”
– **Oil up, markets fall**
Oil prices rose and equities fell Thursday as confidence in a quick end to the war waned. Brent crude was up 3.5 percent at just above $105 a barrel around 2015 GMT. West Texas Intermediate rose about 2.7 percent to just under $93 a barrel.
– **World Bank to respond ‘at scale’ to war**
The World Bank said it was prepared to provide immediate financial assistance to emerging market countries hit by the economic fallout of the conflict, saying it was “ready to respond at scale.” The Washington-based multilateral lender said a number of its clients in affected countries had already reached out as the crisis began to impact commodity prices and logistics.
– **OECD cuts eurozone growth forecasts**
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its eurozone growth outlook and forecast higher inflation for 2026 after the Middle East war caused energy prices to skyrocket. The Paris-based group lowered its growth forecast for the currency union by 0.4 percentage points to 0.8 percent. It largely maintained its 2026 forecasts for the United States and China, but warned of further fallout should hostilities continue.
– **Spain approves war-impact measures**
Spain’s parliament approved a sweeping package worth five billion euros ($5.8 billion) aimed at curbing the economic impact of the Middle East war, including steep cuts to energy taxes.
– **Poland cuts fuel taxes**
Poland’s prime minister announced Thursday a series of measures to cushion the impact of soaring fuel costs, including reduced taxes and price ceilings. The value-added tax was being reduced on petrol and diesel from 23 percent to eight percent, and a maximum price would be set on a daily basis by the energy ministry, said Donald Tusk.
– **German consumer confidence slumps**
German consumer sentiment fell heading into April due to the war, a survey showed Thursday, adding to the woes facing Europe’s top economy. “Consumers are expecting inflation to take off again and the economic recovery to be held back as a result of higher energy prices,” said Rolf Buerkl, head of consumer climate at the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions.
– **South Korea prepares ‘wartime’ budget**
South Korea will roll out a $17 billion “wartime” supplementary budget and expand fuel tax cuts as the war in Iran pushes up energy prices, authorities said. “The government will draw up a supplementary budget worth 25 trillion won next month — funded by excess tax revenue — in response to the prolonged Middle East conflict,” the government said in a statement.
– **Japan releases oil reserves**
Japan said it had started to release another part of its strategic oil reserves Thursday as it looks to temper the impact on the resource-poor nation from the surge in prices caused by the war. Japan is the fifth-biggest importer of oil, with more than 90 percent of it from the Middle East.
– **Russian oil arrives in Philippines**
A ship carrying more than 700,000 barrels of Russian crude oil has arrived in the Philippines, a source told AFP days after the Southeast Asian country declared a national energy emergency over the Middle East war.
© 2024 AFP
