Brent crude oil rose to around $61 per barrel as fighting in Libya and Iraq stoked output worries, while traders kept a close eye on Iran nuclear talks that could eventually bring more supply to world markets. Fighting escalated in northeast Iraq where Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) militants set fire to oilfields to deter Shia militiamen and Iraqi soldiers from advancing. In Libya, worsening security conditions have led to the closure of eleven oilfields. In reaction Brent LCOc1 was up 50 cents a barrel at $60.98 and light crude CLc1 was up 10 cents at $50.86 a barrel.

On the sidelines of a meeting with the General Confederation of Moroccan Businesses (GCEM) on Wednesday, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) said that it hopes to reach $500-$600 million in engaged capitals. At just over MAD 5 billion, the Americans are eyeing several strategic sectors in the kingdom, including renewable energy, infrastructure, and tourism. Concurrently,  a US commercial delegation of ten leading security industry firms led by Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis Marcus Jadotte is currently visiting Morocco with the aim of forging business and investment partnerships. [Morocco World News, 3/5/2015]

Egypt plans to offer around fifty projects, valued at up to $35 billion at the international investment conference in mid-March. The government has already started negotiations over ten projects, including a $3 billion power plant and embarked on a mega-project to expand the Suez Canal and develop an industrial zone around it. Overall, Egypt attracted some $1.3 billion in foreign investment in the first quarter of the current fiscal year ending in June and reportedly the government hopes to reach $8 billion by the end of the fiscal year, nearly double the amount from the previous year. [NYT, 3/5/2015]