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DAVOS, Switzerland — OPEC countries could cut oil production again this year, Saudi Arabia's energy minister said Thursday.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum at the Swiss ski resort of Davos, Khalid Al Falih said he "would not exclude" another cut to follow last year's agreement if higher prices do not stick because of variables outside producers' control, such as a potential collapse in demand.

"I think plan b is to be resilient and to be flexible and to deal with the circumstances," he said.

"There have been times in the past where OPEC has taken one action and then a few months later found out that that action was not sufficient and followed up with another action," he said. "We will not exclude that and that's why we're meeting up again in May."

Asked if that could involve further cuts, the minister said "if needed, absolutely".

However, he said his baseline expectation is that it "will not be necessary".

OPEC agreed in late November to cut its production by 1.2 million barrels a day to 32.5 million barrels, the first reduction agreed to by the cartel since 2008. Nearly a dozen other countries, including Russia, pledged in December to cut an additional 558,000 barrels a day.

Those cuts are due to expire in June and Al Falih said an extension is also possible.

He warned that extending the cuts "could create a shortage too early which we don't want to”.

"But if we find out... that it's not enough, we will do what is necessary."

Oil prices are trading over $50 a barrel, nearly double the level they were a year ago, largely because of the production cuts.

For higher oil prices to stick, producers will have to show they are complying with their agreements.

Earlier Thursday, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) said global oil output is dropping for the first time in months, as Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries follow through on the pledged cuts.

The IEA's monthly report on Thursday showed OPEC production dropped to 33.09 million barrels a day in December from 34.2 million the previous month.

The IEA's executive director, Fatih Birol, cautioned that the higher oil prices prompted by the production cuts could see a rise in output from US shale gas producers and that newly increased supply could weigh on oil prices.

"Don't underestimate the shale gas reaction," he said.

Oil prices shot up to more than $100 a barrel in mid-2014 before a long slide sent them crashing below $30 in early 2016.

A number of factors hit prices, including worries over the scale of the economic slowdown in China and high supply from OPEC countries, notably Saudi Arabia, as they seemingly strove to drive US shale gas producers out of business.

Now the higher prices may entice those shale gas producers to ramp up production again.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — At night, large swaths of the Gaza Strip plunge into darkness — the result of chronic and worsening power outages. In crowded city streets, the only source of light comes from the headlights of passing cars.

The power shortages are the worst to hit Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory 10 years ago. In recent weeks, electricity has been available for just three or four hours a day. Although some relief has arrived, the power woes have turned Gaza into a cold, dark place at the height of the winter season and sparked rare public protests against the militant group.

"Our situation is bad. I swear to God it's very, very bad," said Majed Abu Nemer, a father of six who supports his family by transporting goods on a horse-drawn cart.

On a recent day, he and other residents in a poor neighbourhood of the southern town of Khan Younis burned scrap wood inside their homes, unbothered by the smoke. His family clustered around the fire, on which their mother cooked soup and roasted bread.

"I can't afford to keep buying candles, or go and bring an [emergency] light," Abu Nemer said. "When the light's battery is about to die, I go to my neighbours to charge it so I can see how my children are sleeping and if they are covered."

The shortages have not affected hospitals in the territory, which receive diesel from several international aid groups in order to run generators.

This week, the wealthy Gulf country Qatar, one of Hamas' few allies, delivered a grant to buy more fuel for Gaza's lone-power plant. The aid is expected to increase the electricity supply to as much as two eight-hour shifts every 24 hours.

But the grant does little to solve the underlying reasons for the crisis. Gaza has not enjoyed full-time electricity in at least a decade because this requires 400 to 450 megawatts of power daily. Israel provides Gaza with 120MW and Egypt 30.

The territory's lone-power plant produces 50MW, bringing the daily total in the best of times to around half the requirement. In winter, increasing demand and the worn-out electrical grid cause repeated failures.

The diesel for the power plant comes from Israel, but the Hamas-run energy authority in Gaza pays for it. Hamas accuses the rival West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, which coordinates the electricity delivery with Israel, of taxing the fuel and driving up the price.

Hamas can afford to buy enough diesel to run two turbines at the power plant. With the Qatari grant, Hamas is now buying enough to run a third turbine.

While Qatar's help has brought some relief, residents still lack power for at least eight hours a day, usually during the evenings. For many residents, doing laundry, baking bread, studying and even showering — for the many residents whose water supply depends on electric pumps — take place in the middle of the night, when power comes back on.

But keeping warm remains the greatest challenge, especially for those who live in apartments. The power alternatives, including batteries and even solar systems used by the wealthy, cannot run electrical heaters, so people resort to older, more dangerous means, like burning coal or dusting off long-abandoned kerosene heaters.

During the daytime, acrid smoke emitted from humming generators outside restaurants spills onto chunks of meat rotating on shawarma spits. Additional external wiring for battery-powered lights can be seen in shops and small businesses.

Restaurant owner Abdul Salam Al Sheikh said he has been able to keep the lights on with a generator, but the extra fuel costs are destroying his business. "It eats up your capital. It increases the costs," he said. "My money is being burned."

DAVOS, Switzerland — Chinese President Xi Jinping offered a vigorous defence of globalisation and free trade in a speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Tuesday, which underscored Beijing's desire to play a greater global role as the United States turns inward.

Likening protectionism to "locking oneself in a dark room" to protect from danger, but at the same time depriving the room of "light and air", he cautioned other countries against pursuing their own interests at the expense of others.

Xi did not mention Donald Trump in his speech of nearly an hour but many of the messages he sent seemed directed at the US president-elect, who campaigned for the White House on pledges to protect US industries from foreign competition and levy new tariffs on goods from China and Mexico.

"No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war," Xi told the forum in the Swiss Alps.

He said economic globalisation has become a "Pandora's Box" for many, but that it was not the cause of many global problems. He added that international financial crises were caused by the excessive pursuit of profits, not globalisation.

Xi's appearance, a first for a Chinese leader at the annual meeting of political leaders, CEOs and bankers in Davos, came as doubts emerge about whether the United States will remain a force for multilateral cooperation on issues like trade and climate change.

Europe, meanwhile, is pre-occupied with its own troubles, from Brexit and militant attacks to the string of elections this year in which anti-globalisation populists could score gains.

This has left a vacuum that China seems eager to fill.

"It is no coincidence that Xi chose this year to make the trip up the magic mountain," said Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, a US -based political risk consultancy.

More than half a dozen senior Chinese government figures are in Davos this week, far more than in past years.  A large number of sessions are focused on Asia, including one entitled "Asia Takes the Lead".

WEF founder Klaus Schwab said Xi's presence was a sign of the shift from a uni-polar world dominated by the United States to a more multi-polar system in which rising powers like China will have to step up and play a bigger role.

"In a world marked by great uncertainty and volatility the world is looking to China," Schwab said before Xi spoke.

AMMAN — Secretary General of the Jordan Investment Commission (JIC), Mikhled Omari, on Tuesday  briefed Imad Faqid, vice president of the Airbus Group for MENA, on the procedures that the government has taken recently to increase foreign and local investment in the country.

During the briefing, Omari said the government has endorsed a unified investment law to eliminate red tape, offer more incentives, and make it easier for investors to set up projects, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Omari asserted JICs willingness to support Airbus Group in bringing more investments to the Kingdom.

LONDON — Eight men own the same wealth as the poorest half of the world's population, a level of inequality which "threatens to pull our societies apart", Oxfam said on Monday ahead of the World Economic Forum opening in Davos.

The wealth of the world's poorest 3.6 billion people is the equivalent to the combined net worth of six American businessmen, one from Spain and another from Mexico.

Picked from Forbes' billionaires list, they include Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg who co-founded Facebook, and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.

Oxfam pointed to a link between the vast gap between rich and poor and growing discontent with mainstream politics around the world.

"From Brexit to the success of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, a worrying rise in racism and the widespread disillusionment with mainstream politics, there are increasing signs that more and more people in rich countries are no longer willing to tolerate the status quo," Oxfam said in its new report, "An economy for the 99 per cent".

The charity said new data on wealth distribution from countries such as India and China had prompted it to revise its own calculation, having said a year ago the wealth of half the world's population was in the hands of 62 people.

Inequality will be among the issues topping the agenda as the world's political and business elite meet in Davos from Tuesday until Friday, when 3,000 people will gather for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. 

"Responsive and responsible leadership" has been chosen as the theme of the summit, which organisers said was a response to a "backlash against globalisation leading to two surprising vote results and a rise in populism in the West".

In its report Oxfam called for an increase in tax rates targeting "rich individuals and cooperations", as well as a global agreement to end competition between countries to lower corporate tax rates. 

The charity also condemned lobbying by corporations and the closeness of business and politics, calling for mandatory public lobby registries and stronger rules on conflicts of interest.

DETROIT — Electric cars will pick up critical momentum in 2017, many in the auto industry believe — just not in North America.

Tighter emissions rules in China and Europe leave global carmakers and some consumers with little choice but to embrace plug-in vehicles, fuelling an investment surge, said industry executives gathered in Detroit this past week for the city's annual auto show.

"Car electrification is an irreversible trend," said Jacques Aschenbroich, chief executive of auto supplier Valeo, which has expanded sales by 50 per cent in five years with a focus on electric, hybrid, connected and self-driving cars.

In Europe, green cars benefit increasingly from subsidies, tax breaks and other perks, while combustion engines face mounting penalties, including driving and parking restrictions.

China, struggling with catastrophic pollution levels in major cities, is aggressively pushing plug-in vehicles. Its carrot-and-stick approach combines tens of billions in investment and research funding with subsidies, and regulations designed to discourage driving fossil-fuelled cars in big cities.

The road ahead for electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States, however, could have more hairpin curves.

Regulators in California and a group of other US states are pushing ahead with state-level rules mandating rising quotas for electric, or "zero emission" vehicles.

But plug-in registrations in the United States fell in 2015, and the market share of electric-only vehicles declined further to 0.37 per cent in 2016, as cheap fuel drove demand for gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to roll back environmental and climate rules. Groups representing established automakers asked Trump to review Obama administration fuel economy targets out to 2025, even before the outgoing administration formally signed them into effect on Friday.

Automakers have also asked Trump to work towards a single, national set of rules to govern automotive greenhouse gas emissions, a move that could spark legal challenges to electric car quotas in California and other states on grounds they present a separate standard.

’The world
is going electric’

Still, industry executives in Detroit said hitting the brakes on electric vehicles in the United States would not relieve the pressure to bring them to market, because China and Europe are forging ahead with policies to expand sales of plug-in cars.

That is why Ford is moving forward with previously announced plans to invest $4.5 billion for plug-in vehicles by 2020, Chief Executive Mark Fields said earlier this month.

"The industry is changing, the infrastructure's starting to build, and that's why our view is [that] within the next 15 years we'll see more electrified offerings than we'll see gasoline-powered," Fields said as he unveiled a $700 million plan to build a battery SUV and other plug-in vehicles in Flat Rock, Michigan.

To drive the shift to electric, industry executives said they needed more help from governments.

In China, Europe and the United States, automakers are advocating new infrastructure money go to public electric car charging networks.

In the United States, EV manufacturers are pushing for the continuation of a $7,500 federal tax subsidy for consumers who buy a fully electric car. Even if Trump were to try to eliminate it, it would take time as Congress would have to act.

"There is not a disagreement that the world is going electric," California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols said on the sidelines of the auto show, noting that all vehicle makers were now investing in electric models across their entire product lines. The debate, she said, was "over timing, not the goal”.

The Chinese electric car market cast its shadow over the Detroit auto show, where manufacturers showed off plug-in hybrid and electric models that will likely do scant business in the United States.

IHS Automotive predicts Chinese plug-in deliveries will hit 1 million in 2019, four years before the United States. China pulled ahead in 2015 with a fourfold sales surge before adding 55 per cent last year to 348,000 vehicles, with the United States at 138,000.

"Look to China rather than the US for the future of electric cars," Gerard Detourbet, a Renault-Nissan executive leading low-cost plug-in development, said recently. "China is compelled to act — that's the main difference."

BRUSSELS — The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator warned Saturday the bloc must be aware of the risk to financial stability during what are expected to be very tough talks with Britain.

Earlier, The Guardian newspaper reported that the negotiator, Michel Barnier, had told colleagues the EU would have to strike a "special" deal with Britain's hugely important finance sector to keep credit flowing in Europe.

In a tweeted message, Barnier said, however, he had not been talking about an arrangement with the City of London, one of the world's most important financial markets.

"When asked on equivalence I said: EU would need special vigilance on financial stability risk, not special deal to access the City," he said in the message.

A European Commission spokesman told AFP on Saturday: "The minutes referred to in the article do not correctly reflect what Mr Barnier said."

British and especially international finance houses currently have full access to the European Union's single market by virture of being based in Britain as a member state.

EU banks enjoy reciprocal rights and the key question is whether this mutual access will continue after Brexit.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has appeared to put the stress on regaining full control over immigration, at the expense of the freedom of movement which the EU regards as one of its core achievements.

May insists she will do her best to ensure full access for British-based banks but Brussels has repeatedly made clear it will not allow London to cherry-pick what it wants in its future relationship with the EU.

Barnier has taken a hard line on the negotiations for Brexit — which May says she will trigger by end-March — and has a reputation in the City of London to match from his time as EU Internal Market and Services Commissioner in 2010-14.

Bank of England chief Mark Carney warned earlier this week that Europe also had much to lose if no deal was reached, given how important London was as a financial market for European companies and governments.

There were "greater financial stability risks on the continent in the short term, for the transition, than there are for the UK," Carney said.

CAIRO — In an economic crisis that has led to a shortage of medicines, Egyptians are skipping trips to drug stores, and instead turning to herbal remedies to treat every-day illnesses.

In the Cairo working class neighbourhood of Basateen, dozens can be seen lining up outside a decades-old herbal spice shop with pyramid-shaped stacks of jars on display, filled with everything from honey and ginger to camel's hay.

Apothecaries say there is a roughly 70-80 per cent increase in sales after a series of harsh economic reforms hit medicine supply in pharmacies across the country and increased the cost of some generic and even life-saving drugs.

Store owner Samy Al Attar — whose last name is Arabic for apothecary — says a knowledgeable apothecary can find substitutes for drugs treating almost all non-terminal illnesses.

Just like pharmacies, the walls inside Al Attar's store are lined with drawers and containers. But rather than pharmaceutical drugs, they hold herbs, each said to have its own unique healing property.

Customers impatiently crowd outside the shop window, where employees can be seen dashing around the tiny interior, choosing from a variety of textures and colours, filling clear plastic bags with orders.

Al Attar's role is like many pharmacists. Customers explain their symptoms and he produces a concoction of spices and herbs along with a method of administration.

Egypt's health ministry is in the middle of negotiations with pharmaceutical companies over a 15 per cent increase in prices of locally-produced drugs, and a 20 per cent increase in the prices of imported ones.

Local spices and herbs, meanwhile, cost between 5 and 10 Egyptian pounds per kilogramme.

AMMAN — The World Bank (WB) on Tuesday said  growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is estimated to have slowed to 2.7 per cent in 2016, reflecting fiscal consolidation in some countries and oil production constraints in others.

In its Global Economic Prospects  report for 2017, the WB said the failed ceasefire in Syria, the ongoing war in Yemen, the fight in Iraq against the Daesh terror group, and the political crisis in Libya were part of a continued cycle of conflict in the region that has led to mass displacement, loss of life and destruction of infrastructure.

 The multilateral lender said cross-border spillovers in the form of disrupted trade, fiscal pressures from spending demands related to refugees and security, and loss of revenues from tourism have caused damage to the region and had international ripple effects.

Growth slowed sharply in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to 1.6 per cent as oil sector weakness spread to non-oil sectors, according to the WB group.

At the same time, output is estimated to have accelerated in Iran to a 4.6 per cent pace and in Iraq to a 10.2 per cent rate, thanks to large gains in oil production and, in the Republic of Iran, to a recovery in agriculture, automotive production, trade and transport.

Among oil-importing economies, growth in Egypt dipped slightly to a 4.3 per cent pace in fiscal year 2016, as foreign currency shortages held back manufacturing and the tourism industry slowed.

Morocco eased to an estimated 1.5 per cent in 2016 on a drought-related contraction in the agricultural sector, the WB indicated.

Outlook

Growth in the region is forecast to recover to a 3.1 per cent pace this year, with oil importers registering the strongest gains, according to the WB.

Among oil exporters, Saudi Arabia is forecast to accelerate to a 1.6 per cent growth rate in 2017, still modest by historical standards.

Iran is anticipated to pick up to a 5.2 per cent rate on the expectation oil production will continue to expand and that deals to obtain foreign investment are completed.

Algeria should slow to a 2.9 per cent pace on a decline in spending on public works and delays in tax and subsidy reforms.

Among oil importers, growth in Egypt is forecast to slow to a 4 per cent rate in FY2017, as fiscal consolidation begins and as private consumption slows with rising inflation, before picking up in 2018.

Morocco is anticipated to jump to a 4 per cent pace in 2017, thanks to a recovery in agricultural output. Jordan should see a recovery in investment and exports that will push growth up to 2.6 per cent, the WB said.

Risks

Failure of oil prices to follow their expected upward trajectory and an escalation of conflict pose substantial downside risks to growth in the region. Elevated oil price volatility could undermine government spending and fiscal paths. 

Spillovers from existing conflicts in several countries, as well as a heightened incidence of terrorism, are risks to regional economic activity, the WB reported. Rising conflict-related risks would likely increase economic uncertainty and slow investment, the WB noted. 

Fiscal and structural reforms could trigger public discontent, with negative effects on confidence, foreign investment and growth.

For GCC countries, the anticipated tightening of monetary policy in the United States could pose an indirect risk to growth, the WB added.

CAIRO — Annual consumer price inflation in Egypt's cities soared to a second straight eight-year high in December, hitting 23.3 per cent on the back of the government's decision to float the pound, effectively halving its value.

Core inflation also jumped to 25.86 per cent in the urban areas, the central bank said on Tuesday.

Urban consumer inflation hit an eight-year high of 19.4 per cent in November, the month when Egypt abandoned its currency peg of 8.8 to the US dollar in a dramatic move that has since seen the currency depreciate roughly by half.

It accompanied the November 3 move with a 300 basis point interest rate hike to fight inflationary pressures.

Despite the hike, inflation has risen sharply and is expected to climb further this year as the government pushes on with economic reforms, including fuel subsidy cuts and the implementation of a value-added tax.

Those moves were required to secure a $12 billion International Monetary Fund loan.

In cities and towns, food and beverage inflation touched 28.3 per cent in December. Healthcare inflation stood at 32.9 per cent while transportation was 23.2 per cent.

"Egypt now is in the eye of the policy restructuring cycle, and the price is higher inflation and an overall fiscal deficit pending a structural change in government spending and general re-pricing of goods and services," Arqaam Capital said in a research note.

"A reversal of over 50 years of comprehensive government support will take time," it said, predicting inflation to remain high in the first half of the year, averaging 20 per cent in 2016/17 before declining to 18 per cent in 2017/18.

President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi is under increasing pressure to revive the economy, keep prices under control and create jobs to avoid a backlash from the public.

Sisi predicted last month that the Egyptian pound would strengthen in the coming months and promised to ensure basics were available and affordable.

The government has expanded its social security network and some 70 million Egyptians have access to state subsidised bread.

But Egypt's non-oil business activity shrank for the 15th consecutive month in December as inflation caused purchase costs to rise at a near-record pace.

Economists expect the rising inflation to erode spending power, hit economic growth and prompt further hikes to interest rates, which are already up to 15.75 per cent.

Egypt's central bank has held interest rates steady at two monetary policy meetings since the flotation and some economists expect further rate hikes this year.

The monetary policy committee is due to meet again on February 16.