Egypt's revenue from the Suez Canal plunged by almost two thirds last year, officials said Wednesday, attributing the sharp drop to regional tensions and wars in the Middle East that have impacted traffic through the key waterway.

The canal is a major source of foreign currency for the Egyptian government, with about 10% of world trade flowing through the waterway in recent years.

Turkey's central bank raised its key interest rate by 3.5 percentage points on Thursday, halting a three‑month easing streak as it confronts stubborn inflation, financial turbulence following the arrest of Istanbul's mayor and aftershocks of global tariffs.

The Monetary Policy Committee lifted the benchmark one‑week repo rate to 46% from 42.5% and pushed the overnight lending and borrowing rates to 49% and 44.5%, respectively.

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions Wednesday on a Chinese refinery accused of purchasing more than $1 billion worth of Iranian oil, saying the proceeds help finance both Tehran's government and Iran's support for militant groups.

The sanctioned refinery in China's Shandong province received dozens of shipments of crude oil from Iran worth more than $1 billion, the Trump administration said. Some of the petroleum came from a front company for Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, U.S. authorities said.

Global benchmarks mostly rose Tuesday, echoing a rally on Wall Street after President Donald Trump appeared to let up on some of his tariffs and as stress from within the U.S. bond market seemed to be easing.

Still, the Trump administration took further steps toward imposing more tariffs, saying it was investigating the national security implications of imports of pharmaceuticals, computer chips and related products.

Japan's chief trade negotiator will visit the United States this week for talks aimed at convincing U.S. President Donald Trump to remove tariff measures against the East Asian country, officials said Tuesday.

Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa will be in Washington from Wednesday to Friday for talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, according to Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi.

China's Xi is making the case for free trade as he tours Southeast Asia this week, presenting China as a source of "stability and certainty."

On Monday, he was welcomed to Hanoi with pomp and ceremony by Vietnam's President Luong Cuong.

The Trump administration has taken its next steps toward imposing more tariffs on key imports, launching investigations into imports of computer chips, chip making equipment and pharmaceuticals.

The Department of Commerce posted notices about the probes late Monday on the Federal Register, seeking public comment within three weeks. It had not formally announced them earlier.

OPEC slightly lowered its forecast for oil demand growth on Monday, citing the impact of US tariffs on the world economy.

The Saudi-led oil cartel said in a monthly report that it now expects demand to grow by 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025, down from a previous forecast of 1.4 million bpd.

Doha and Cairo are pursuing a $7.5 billion package of direct Qatari investment in Egypt, the two Arab nations said in a joint statement on Monday.

"The two sides emphasized the importance of strengthening economic cooperation... they agreed to work toward a package of direct Qatari investments totaling $7.5 billion, to be implemented over the next phase," Qatari official media said, citing the statement issued a visit by Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to the gas-rich Gulf state.

Lebanese depositors will get their money back "but it may take time", Economy Minister Amer Bisat said Monday.

"Nobody will lose their deposits but it may take time," Bisat told American news agency Bloomberg, adding that he believes that parliament will pass a draft law on restructuring Lebanon's banking sector within few weeks.