Good afternoon, friends. We hope you’re surviving the dusty weather. On the docket today: Egypt may walk away from its oil hedging program, gold hits a record USD 4.6k on geopolitical jitters, and we explore how Cairo’s independent theater scene is (re)turning art into a viable business. Let’s dive in.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

📍 Egypt is thinking about walking away from its oil price hedging program starting next fiscal year, a senior government official tells EnterpriseAM. The move marks a significant shift in how the state manages its exposure to global energy markets, moving away from expensive bank-led ins. contracts in favor of direct supply agreements.

For years, Egypt has tapped international banks to protect against spikes in oil prices, but now, this ins. premium is no longer worth it, our source told us. Last fiscal year, the Finance Ministry paid some USD 84.5 mn to hedge 55 mn barrels, but global prices stayed below the contract’s strike price, and looking ahead, the consensus is that oil prices will continue to fall — with Brent crude averaging USD 61.27 a barrel in 2026, according to a recent Reuters poll.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 Gold has reached an all-time high as spot gold jumped 2% to USD 4.6k per ounce for the first time ever. This follows a surge in geopolitical tensions, particularly as protests in Iran intensify — around 500 deaths and over 10k arrests reported — and US President Donald Trump threatens military intervention. A big policy risk is also at play following an investigation into the US Federal Reserve and its Chair Jerome Powell, whom Trump threatened with criminal indictment over a USD 2.5 bn renovation to the central bank’s headquarters in Washington, DC, and Powell’s related testimony to Congress.

^^Read more on: Reuters and CNBC here and here.

ALSO- Trump has threatened to sideline Exxon Mobil from Venezuela’s energy market, stating that he didn’t like the CEO’s comment that Venezuela is “uninvestable” after Trump encouraged oil companies to re-enter the South American country. Oil prices are at risk of doubling as the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, comes into focus amid possible US military intervention and a consequent move by Iran to disrupt the waterway. The Strait of Hormuz saw the transit of around 13 mn barrels daily in 2025, accounting for 31% of global seaborne crude flows.

^^Read more on: Bloomberg and CNBC.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

  • The European Union looks set to give Egyptian exports an exemption from its carbon tax until the end of 2027. Two Egyptian government officials tell us the exemption from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will give energy-intensive manufacturers in Egypt — specifically in the iron, steel, cement, and fertilizer sectors and at a later stage electricity and green hydrogen — a crucial two-year window in which to decarbonize before facing punitive border tariffs;
  • The government inked agreements backing two integrated clean energy projects worth some USD 1.8 bn — a solar and battery storage facility led by Norway’s Scatec. Critically, that solar facility will be fed by a battery manufacturing plant here in Egypt that’s being set up by China’s Sungrow;
  • The government abandoned plans to tighten import restrictions in the Port Said Freezone. Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development Kamel El Wazir decided to maintain the existing quota system and allow the general import of auto spare parts to continue.

🌤️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Layer up and stay warm, we’re in for a particularly cool day in Cairo tomorrow. Temperatures are set to peak at just 18°C before cooling down even further to 11°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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