WASHINGTON — The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said she is urging the US and China to de-escalate trade tensions, warning that a decoupling by the world’s two largest economies could reduce global economic output by 7% over the longer term.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters in an interview the global trade body was extremely concerned about the latest spike in US-China trade tensions and had spoken with officials from both countries to encourage more dialogue.

“We’re obviously worried at any escalation of US-China tensions,” she said, noting the two sides had backed away from their first tariff escalation earlier this year, averting more serious consequences and she hoped that would happen again.

“Similarly, we are really hoping that the two sides will come together and they will de-escalate, because any US-China tensions and US-China decoupling (would) have implications not just for the two biggest economies in the world, but also for the rest of the world,” she said.

Both sides, Ms. Okonjo-Iweala said, understand the importance of good relations, given the implications for the global economy and other countries.

Any kind of decoupling that divides the world into two trading blocs would result in “significant global GDP (gross domestic product) losses in the longer term — up to 7% global GDP losses and double-digit welfare losses for developing countries,” she said.

ESCALATING TENSIONS REMAIN ‘SERIOUS RISK’
The WTO this month sharply lowered its 2026 forecast for global merchandise trade volume growth to 0.5% from its previous estimate of 1.8% growth in August, citing expected delayed impacts from US President Donald J. Trump’s tariffs. It raised its forecast for global goods trade growth to 2.4% for 2025.

Those forecasts were issued before the relative calm of recent months was shattered when China imposed new export controls on rare earth metals needed for the technology sector, and Mr. Trump responded by imposing new 100% duties on Chinese imports starting next month.

Ms. Okonjo-Iweala said she told officials from the Group of 20 major economies on Wednesday evening that there could be no global financial stability without global trade stability.

“Pressures on the system have not eased and may intensify,” she told the group. “The full effects of recent tariffs are still to be felt. Trade diversion is fueling protectionist sentiment elsewhere. And escalating tensions between the United States and China remain a serious risk.”

Ms. Okonjo-Iweala said most WTO members had refrained from joining in the tariff war, and 72% of global trade was still following WTO rules despite a series of bilateral trade deals signed by the US with other countries.

The rules-based multilateral system was proving resilient despite the most severe policy shock in eight decades, she said.

But Ms. Okonjo-Iweala said organizations like the WTO should use the current multilateralism crisis to undertake long-sought reforms and make the global trade body more flexible and efficient, and able to take advantage of new trade opportunities in digital trade, services and green trade.

“There’s absolutely no doubt that there are global problems that cannot be solved by any one country alone, and you will need global cooperation to do it, and that’s where multilateralism will still be very, very relevant,” she said. “But to make sure that the organizations are really appreciated, we have to reform, and at the WTO, we are ready to work on this.”

Ms. Okonjo-Iweala said she had a good meeting on Wednesday with Deputy US Trade Representative Joseph Barloon, who was confirmed last week as the US ambassador to the WTO.

She said she was very appreciative that the US had removed the WTO from its list of planned spending cuts to international organizations, and efforts were underway to settle US arrears to the trade body. — Reuters

CAIRO/JERUSALEM — The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over the bodies of deceased hostages as the two sides continued to trade blame over ceasefire violations.

Mr. Netanyahu’s statement came shortly after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that the Rafah crossing, the main gateway for Gazans to leave and enter the enclave, would reopen on Monday for entry into Gaza.

Netanyahu’s government and Hamas have been trading blame over violations of the US-mediated ceasefire for days. Late on Saturday in Washington, the State Department said it had received “credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza.”

The State Department said the planned attack against Palestinian civilians would be a “direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement.”

“Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire,” the department said in a statement, without providing further details.

US President Donald J. Trump had said he would consider allowing Israeli forces to resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas fails to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal that he brokered.

Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The militant group has launched a security crackdown in urban areas vacated by Israeli forces, demonstrating its power through public executions and clashes with local armed clans.

DISPUTE OVER AID, RETURN OF BODIES
Hamas, in a statement late on Saturday, said Mr. Netanyahu’s decision “constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement and a repudiation of the commitments he made to the mediators and guarantor parties.”

It also said the continued closure of the Rafah crossing would prevent the entry of equipment needed to search for and locate more hostage bodies under the rubble, and would thus delay the recovery and handover of the remains.

Israel said it received two more bodies late on Saturday, meaning 12 out of 28 bodies have been handed over under a US-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal agreed between Israel and Hamas last week.

The war has caused a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with nearly all inhabitants driven from their homes, a global hunger monitor confirming famine and health authorities overwhelmed.

The dispute over the return of bodies, and shipments of life-saving humanitarian aid, underlines the fragility of the ceasefire and still has the potential to upset the deal along with other major issues that are included in Mr. Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war.

As part of the deal, Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages it had been holding for two years, in return for almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners jailed in Israel.

FORMIDABLE OBSTACLES TO PEACE
But Israel says that Hamas has been too slow to hand over the bodies of deceased hostages it still holds. The militant group says that locating some of the bodies amid the vast destruction in Gaza will take time.

The deal requires Israel to return 360 bodies of Palestinian militants for the deceased Israeli hostages and so far it has handed over 15 bodies in return for each Israeli body it has received.

Rafah has largely been shut since May 2024. The ceasefire deal also includes the ramping up of aid into the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of people were determined in August to be affected by famine, according to the IPC global hunger monitor.

After cutting off all supplies for 11 weeks in March, Israel increased aid into Gaza in July, scaling it up further since the ceasefire.

Around 560 metric tons of food had entered Gaza per day on average since the US-brokered truce, but this was still well below the scale of need, according to the UN World Food Programme.

Formidable obstacles to Trump’s plan to end the war still remain. Key questions of Hamas disarming and how Gaza will be governed, the make-up of an international “stabilization force” and moves towards the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved.  — Reuters

MUMBAI — Soaring gold prices led Indian buyers to choose coins and bars over jewelry during the Dhanteras festival on Saturday, fueled by hopes that the precious metal’s glittering rally would continue, industry officials told Reuters.

Dhanteras, which marks the start of the five-day Diwali festival of lights, is considered auspicious for buying gold and is one of the busiest gold-buying days in the world’s second-biggest consumer of the metal.

Overall gold sales during Dhanteras were 10-15% lower in volume terms compared to last year, but total value rose sharply due to higher prices, said Rajesh Rokde, chairman of the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council.

“Gold jewelry demand took a hit with record-high prices, dropping nearly 30% from last year, but coins and bars were flying off the shelves,” Surendra Mehta, secretary at the India Bullion and Jewellers Association, said.

In India, buyers typically pay 10-20% of the gold price as manufacturing charges for jewelry, making it even more expensive than buying gold coins.

Local gold prices closed at 127,008 rupees per 10 grams on Friday after hitting a record high of 132,294 rupees, marking an increase of more than 60% since last year’s Dhanteras. India’s NSE Nifty 50 share index has risen about 5% during the period.

Facing record price surges, the industry is offering healthy discounts on jewelry making to maintain strong gold-buying interest throughout the festive and upcoming wedding seasons, said Sachin Jain, chief executive officer of the World Gold Council’s Indian operations.

Indian dealers were last week quoting a premium XAU-IN-PREM of up to $25 per ounce over official domestic prices, inclusive of 6% import and 3% sales levies, the highest in more than a decade.

Demand for silver coins, bars and jewelry meanwhile was strong this year, driven by the metal’s stellar price rally, said Saurabh Gadgil, chairman of PNG Jewellers. Investors believe silver could outperform gold, dealers said.

Higher returns from precious metals have been attracting strong inflows into physically backed gold and silver exchange-traded funds in recent months.

“With jewelry stores open till midnight and Dhanteras continuing into tomorrow afternoon, we expect buying momentum to carry forward,” said Rokde of GJC. — Reuters