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.

China's exports jumped 12.4% in March from a year earlier in a last-minute flurry of activity as companies rushed to beat increases in U.S. tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, and analysts forecast sharp setbacks ahead.

Imports fell 4.3% to $211.3 billion in March, the customs administration reported, far exceeded by exports worth $313.9 billion, leaving a trade surplus of $102.6 billion.

Sony said it will raise prices starting Monday for some PlayStation 5 video game consoles in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, citing global economic turmoil.

The company unveiled the price hikes of at least 10%, saying it was a "tough decision" amid the "backdrop of a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates."

China's leader Xi Jinping started a week of diplomacy in Southeast Asia with a visit to Vietnam on Monday, signaling China's commitment to global trade, just after U.S. President Donald Trump upended the global economy with his latest tariffs moves.

Although Trump has paused some tariffs, China was the outlier, as he has kept in place 145% tariffs on the world's second-largest economy.

Lebanon has adopted a draft law on restructuring its banking sector, a condition for unlocking international aid to help it emerge from an economic crisis it has suffered since 2019.

The conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah caused more than $700 million in agricultural damage and losses, a report from the United Nations and Lebanese authorities said.

"The agriculture sector in Lebanon has incurred an estimated $118 million in damages and $586 million in losses," said the assessment by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization with Lebanon's agriculture ministry and the National Council for Scientific Research.

U.S. wholesale prices fell last month in another sign that inflationary pressures are easing. But President Donald Trump's trade wars cloud the outlook as new, punishing tariffs are launched by Beijing and Washington.

The producer price index — which tracks inflation before it hits consumers — fell 0.4% from February, first drop since October 2023, the Labor Department said Friday. Compared with a year earlier, producer prices rose 2.7%, down from a 3.2% year-over-year gain in February and much lower than the 3.3% economists had forecast. Gasoline prices fell 11.1% from February and egg prices, which had skyrocketed because of bird flu, plummeted 21.3%.