OPEC+ meeting, Gulf tightens restrictions, Egypt budget

This week’s OPEC+ meeting turned into a fairly straightforward affair with the group raising output as planned, but if we’re right in expecting oil prices to drop back, the window for governments in the Gulf to loosen fiscal policy will shut. Meanwhile, the emergence of the Omicron variant has prompted the Gulf to tighten restrictions, although South Africa’s experience suggests the ensuing economic impact may be short lived. Elsewhere, Egypt’s budget for FY2022/23 showed officials are set to keep policy tight which will weigh on the recovery.