Today, gold futures were up 0.49 % to Rs 40,169 per 10 grams, while silver futures were up 0.49% t Rs 45,755 per kg.
Globally, gold prices inched up after a sharp drop in the previous session. Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent to $1,555.41 per ounce by 00:50 GMT.
Yesterday, prices declined over 1.5% to their lowest since January 21 at $1,548.70. US gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,558.40.
Today, oil prices jumped by more than 3%.
Both Brent crude oil futures and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude jumped by more than 3% in today’s morning trade.
By 12:20 GMT Brent was up $1.35, or 2.5%, at $55.31 a barrel and (WTI) was up $1.25, or 2.5%, at $50.86.
Yesterday, at Al Khums Port, medics screened the crew members of a ship coming from Spain and transited through Djibouti to Libya.
Health officials clarified that the medical checkups came as a precautionary measure in anticipation of coronavirus infection.
The director of the Port’s Health Control Office at the National Center for Disease Control confirmed that the results of the examinations showed no symptoms of respiratory diseases among the crew.
He also pointed out that this procedure is a part of other measures to step up defences against the spread of coronavirus in the country, including the installation of thermal scanning devices in all sea, air and land ports.
The second round of the Libyan Real Estate Development Forum, held in Tunis, started today .
Speakers will include the Ministers of Finance and Planning, the head of the Housing and Infrastructure Board (HIB), the Economic and Social Development Fund (ESDF), The Organization for the Development of Administrative Centres (ODAC), the Mayors of Tripoli and Benghazi, the Land Registry, Jumhouria and the Real Estate Savings and Development banks and leaders in the private sector.
The topics of discussion will include urban planning and its role in development, the role of Libyan bank financing in the sector, as well as the activation of the suspended land registry and the reality of PPP in Libya.
As far as the first forum is concerned, it discussed ways for the private sector to cooperate with the state sector in completing the implementation of the country’s stalled 550,000 housing-unit projects contracted to foreign companies.
During the annual Libyan Real Estate Development Forum, the CEO of HB Group, Husni Bey confirmed that 60% of public output in Libya has been crippled since 1978, and 70 % of the buildings are random, adding that their credit value is zero.
This year, the forum completes the dialog of the first session, which focused on the means of developing the real estate sector because it is considered as one of the main engines of the national economy in Libya.
National Oil Corporation confirmed a drop in production to the current level of 187,337 barrels per day, with losses resulting from the illegal blockades amounting to 931,775,672 USD.
The NOC added that fuel levels in the Central and Eastern regions remain sufficient, as a gasoline tanker completed unloading its cargo in Benghazi port.
It should be noted that the National Oil Corporation converted one of the naphtha storage tanks in Brega Oil Port into a condensate tank to ensure continuous supply of gas to Zueitina and North Benghazi power plants.
The NOC renewed its call for all blockades to be lifted to allow the corporation to resume production immediately, for the sake of Libya and its people.
In a press conference, Ghassan Salame claimed that representatives of the country’s rival factions agree in turning a fragile truce into a lasting ceasefire, as he decried ongoing violations of an arms embargo by both sides.
Salame said that “neither of the two parties is respecting the arms embargo,” pointing out that his office has evidence of new non-Libyan fighters joining the two camps.
“There are more than 20 million pieces of weapons in Libya, and the country doesn’t need more,” he added.
As far as the blockade of Libya’s main oil terminals is concerned, Salame said that this issue will be discussed at a separate meeting in Cairo.
However, he emphasized that the blockade severely disrupted oil production with Libya’s output plummeting from 1.3m barrels per day to only 72,000 barrels per day.
The Independent Businesspersons and Industry Workers Committee in Turkey claimed that Ankara is working on increasing its exports to Libya in order to achieve 10 billion dollars in comparison to 1.49 billion in 2018.
The Representative of the Committee in Tripoli, Murtada Granfil, stressed that Turkish exports to Libya include clothes, furniture, and car appliances construction supplies.
He added that Libya is the third country to be targeted by Thrkish construction firms, adding that the total amount made out of the projects and contracts is about 29 billion dollars. However, most of the projects are suspended because of the war.
The National Oil Corporation announced that Libya’s oil production dropped to 204,000 barrels per day because of the blockade, adding that “if the stoppage continues, output will eventually fall to 72,000 barrels per day.”
