Oil prices surge after surprise move to cut outpu

Story continued from page 2 obtain support approval from the IMF's Executive Board.

However, the AGI reacting to the passage of new taxes said its members are already struggling with in ation at 52%, VAT at 15%, water tari increments of about 172% for the beverage sector, electricity tari at 29.9% for the industry, policy rates at 29.5%, and an unstable foreign exchange regime.

The AGI warned that the imposition of new taxes on top of these existing issues will lead to a contraction in manufacturing and other related business activities. The Association called on the government to engage in dialogue with them on how to incentivize local industries to avoid the negative consequences of these policies. It said it would continue to engage with the government on such scal policies to bring positive reviews in subsequent national budget statements.