Saudi state oil company reports jump in profits despite attacks; Australian central bank lifts rates – business live
Saudi Aramco reported a more than a third jump in profits to $3.25bn for the three months to September, despite attacks on its facilities, while Australia’s central bank lifted interest rates for the fifth time this year.
The world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, posted a net profit of $3.25bn in the three months to September, a more than a third increase compared with the $2.69bn recorded a year earlier. This financial resilience comes despite a challenging operational environment, including attacks on its facilities and reduced output caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The company’s profits were bolstered by a significant rise in oil prices, which climbed to $107.15 a barrel for Brent crude, a 2.2% gain, following limited US strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island late on Monday.
The price of the global oil benchmark had previously plunged 11% to $103.28 a barrel on Monday after Donald Trump reportedly said he was willing to give diplomacy more time.
Before the war, which started on 28 February, Brent crude traded around $72 a barrel.
Geopolitical uncertainty and attacks on key energy facilities continued to amplify the global energy supply crisis in the third quarter of 2026, with serious implications for global energy security. Despite challenges, the unwavering dedication of our workforce, our operational excellence, the flexibility of our system, and the strength of a supply network built over decades enabled us to continue delivering reliably to our customers through this extraordinary period.
Amin H. Nasser, the company’s president and chief executive, said the attacks and geopolitical tension had amplified the global energy supply crisis.
He added that the company was exploring additional overseas storage capacity and alternative export routes to further strengthen its global supply network.
The strong performance of the world’s biggest oil companies is on track for combined profits of around $100bn between July and September.
Separately, the cryptocurrency exchange Binance reported that hourly deposits exceeded withdrawals this morning, suggesting that flows are stabilising after a hack last week that resulted in $6.3bn of assets being stolen from customer accounts.
Experts have identified North Korea as the probable culprit behind the heist, which has been described as the biggest in history.
Australia raises rates to 18-year high
Australia’s central bank has lifted interest rates for the fifth time this year, taking the cash rate to 4.85%, the highest level in 18 years.
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s board raised the rate by 25 basis points and said it would continue to do what it considers necessary to bring inflation to its target.
The decision was made with a surprisingly narrow 6-3 vote, indicating that policymakers may be getting to the end of their rate-hiking cycle.
Michele Bullock, the governor, said the rate hike was necessary to prevent worse economic pain in the future.
She added that it was unclear what the next move in rates will be, and that three dissenting members had stressed downside risks such as a weakening housing market and rising unemployment.
The central bank said it is an appropriate time to pause and assess how the economy is responding to the rate rises, but cautioned that there is still a bit of a skew on the upside to inflation risks.
Updated forecasts from the central bank show headline inflation hitting 4.5% in the fourth quarter, before easing back to the target range of 2% to 3% in the second half of next year.
Unemployment is forecast to rise above 5% in the next couple of years.
Higher energy prices… would strengthen the case for further monetary policy tightening by the Federal Reserve (Fed) and other major central banks.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote, said higher energy prices would strengthen the case for further monetary policy tightening by the Federal Reserve and other major central banks.
She noted that the Bank of England is widely expected to announce a 25bp hike on Thursday.
The analyst added that the latest monetary policy decisions have brought either rate hikes or the prospect of tighter monetary policy to fight inflation fuelled by elevated global energy prices.
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