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RIYADH: The trade exchange between Qatar and Jordan rose to 910 million Qatari riyals ($248.16 million) in 2024, a 5.81 percent increase from the previous year, driven by higher imports of Jordanian food and consumer goods. 

Both countries saw their trade balance grow 5.6 percent year on year over the 12-month period, with total commerce rising from 800 million riyals in 2022 to 860 million riyals in 2023, according to data from Qatar’s Planning and Statistics Authority, as reported by Jordan News Agency. 

This comes as the trade and economic relationship between Jordan and Qatar has been on an upward trajectory since the establishment of the Joint Business Council in 2015. 

In November, Jordanian Prime Minister Jafar Hassan and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani met to discuss ways to further enhance cooperation in various fields including economic development, trade, investment, and infrastructure. 

Last year, Jordan’s major exports to Qatar included food and consumer products such as fresh and processed foods, vegetables, and fruits, as well as meats, dairy products, and grains. 

Other significant food exports included fresh cheeses, poultry, sweets, and rice. Additionally, Jordan shipped juices, nuts, and oils, as well as pickles, herbs and honey. 

Eggs and Jordanian coffee were also traded.

Conversely, Qatar’s exports to Jordan were largely comprised of chemicals and industrial products, including motor oils, sulfuric acid, aluminum molds, and paraffin. 

Other key Qatari exports to Jordan were polyethylene, iron rods, and chemical fertilizers, as well as plastic bags, organic fertilizers, and medical solutions. 

The growing trade ties between Qatar and Jordan are part of a broader trend of increasing regional trade. 

��������Ƶ also saw significant growth in its trade relationship with Jordan. In the third quarter of 2024, Saudi exports to Jordan reached SR3.78 billion ($1.01 billion), marking a 15.95 percent year-on-year increase. 

Non-oil exports from the Kingdom to Jordan totaled SR2.26 billion, with rubber and plastic products accounting for SR766.7 million and chemicals contributing SR320.2 million. Jordan’s exports to ��������Ƶ during the same period were valued at SR1.49 billion. 

With ongoing efforts to bolster economic ties, the trade relationship between Qatar and Jordan is expected to continue its positive trajectory. 

SINGAPORE: Oil prices extended gains for a third session on Monday, with Brent rising above $80 a barrel to its highest in more than four months, as wider US sanctions are expected to affect Russian crude exports to top buyers China and India.

Brent crude futures climbed $1.14, or 1.43 percent, to $80.90 a barrel by 10:41 a.m. Saudi time after hitting an intraday high of $81.49, the highest since Aug. 27.

US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.20, or 1.57 percent to $77.77 a barrel after touching a high of $78.39, the most since Oct. 8.

Brent and WTI have risen by more than 6 percent since Jan. 8, and both contracts surged after the US Treasury imposed wider sanctions on Russian oil on Friday.

The new sanctions included producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, as well as 183 vessels that have shipped Russian oil, targeting the revenue Moscow has used to fund its war with Ukraine.

Russian oil exports will be hurt severely by the new sanctions, pushing China and India, the world’s top and third-largest oil importers respectively, to source more crude from the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, which will boost prices and shipping costs, traders and analysts said.

“Friday’s announcement strengthens our view that the risks to our $70-85 Brent range forecast are skewed to the upside in the short term,” Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note.

“We estimate that the vessels targeted by the new sanctions transported 1.7mb/d of oil in 2024 or 25 percent of Russia’s exports, with the vast majority being crude oil.”

Expectations of tighter supplies have also pushed Brent and WTI monthly spreads to their widest backwardation since the third quarter of 2024. Prompt prices are higher than those in future months in backwardation, indicating tight supply.

RBC Capital Markets analysts said the doubling of tankers sanctioned for moving Russian barrels could serve as a major logistical headwind to crude flows.

Many of the tankers named in the latest sanctions have been used to ship oil to India and China as previous Western sanctions and a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven countries in 2022 shifted trade in Russian oil from Europe to Asia. Some of the ships have also moved oil from Iran, which is also under sanctions.

“The last round of OFAC (US Office of Foreign Assets Control) sanctions targeting Russian oil companies and a very large number of tankers will be consequential in particular for India,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of research at Onyx Capital Group.

JPMorgan analysts said Russia had some room to maneuver despite the new sanctions, but it would ultimately need to acquire non-sanctioned tankers or offer crude at or below $60 a barrel to use Western insurance as per the West’s price cap.