Gulf and oil prices, Egypt remittances, PIF’s Call of Duty

The latest drop back in oil prices is unlikely to be of much concern to policymakers in the Gulf and we still think that there is a window of opportunity for fiscal policy to be loosened. Elsewhere, remittances into Egypt have held up well during the pandemic but this is unlikely to be enough to prevent falls in the pound. Finally, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) raised its stake in a major US video game producer this week although foreign acquisitions may become rarer as the PIF heeds the call to support domestic projects.