Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Iran-JCPOA, Qatar’s budget, UAE working week shift The seventh round of talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal resumed today, having halted last week, and it appears as though reaching an agreement is some way off. This could put upwards pressure on... 9th December 2021 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Omicron, tourism and the oil market Low vaccine coverage and large tourism sectors mean that the non-Gulf economies are particularly vulnerable to the emergence of the Omicron variant. Meanwhile, the drop in oil prices and the... 2nd December 2021 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly SPR release, Turkey exposure, Egypt price adjustments The US-led release of oil reserves earlier this week did little to bring down the price of oil as President Biden would have hoped and, if anything, could provoke OPEC+ to raise oil production more... 25th November 2021 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Tunisia fiscal policy, Egypt’s private sector, COVID-19 Tunisia’s government upwardly revised its 2021 budget deficit target this week which, coupled with growing signs of it making concessions to appease the UGTT labour union, adds to our view that the... 18th November 2021 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Tunisia unrest, Kuwaiti government, Oman fuel prices Escalating social unrest in Tunisia and opposition to fiscal reforms from the powerful UGTT labour union will make it more difficult for President Saied to push through much-needed fiscal reforms and... 11th November 2021 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Egypt inflation, Saudi budget, Bahrain’s fiscal plan Rising wheat and gas prices have added to concerns about inflation in Egypt, raising the risk that the central bank fails to deliver the interest rate cuts that we currently anticipate next year... 4th November 2021 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly OPEC+ to stay the course, Qatari banks, Saudi’s new NIF We think OPEC+ will stick to its guns next week and raise output quotas by 400,000bpd, but if it bows to pressure to move more quickly the Gulf economies would stand to benefit most. Elsewhere... 28th October 2021 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Lebanon and Tunisia face a tough task to tackle crises The IMF confirmed this week that technical talks with Lebanon have restarted. But even before any sort of deal is reached, the government has the tough task of restructuring its defaulted Eurobond... 21st October 2021 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Egypt and UAE inflation, OPEC+, austerity in Algeria Inflation figures for Egypt showed the headline rate jumped to a 20-month high in September and we think that this will delay a turn towards interest rate cuts. Elsewhere, the UAE emerged from... 14th October 2021 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly OPEC+ fallout, Oman’s upgrade, TUI cancellations The OPEC+ meeting this week triggered a rise in oil prices and, while we expect prices to fall by next year, rising production means that overall oil export revenues for the Gulf economies should... 7th October 2021 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Oil rallies, Bahrain VAT hike, Tunisia gets a new PM The price of oil hit its highest level in nearly three years this week and, combined with rising oil output, will help support an improvement in budget and current account positions in the Gulf. This... 30th September 2021 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Qatar gas, Morocco FX purchases, Tunisian turmoil The continued rise in global gas prices will provide a substantial boost to Qatar's export revenues and provide scope for policymakers to loosen the purse strings to support the economic recovery... 23rd September 2021 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Lebanon finally gets a government, Saudi education plans The news that Lebanon finally formed a new government this week came as welcome relief amid the country’s economic, political and humanitarian crises. But there are still plenty of big hurdles to... 16th September 2021 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Algosaibi deal, Egypt and COVID, UAE Projects of the 50 One of Saudi Arabia’s largest conglomerates, the Algosaibi group, is on the cusp of securing a debt restructuring agreement with its creditors, a sign that recent reforms are helping to speed up... 9th September 2021 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly OPEC+ on track, UAE eases restrictions with Expo in sight This month’s OPEC+ meeting passed without much fanfare as the recent rebound in oil prices prompted the group to push ahead with raising oil output, which will help to lift the Gulf economies further... 2nd September 2021 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Egypt’s COVID outbreak, Tunisia’s president tightens grip Fears are growing that Egypt is on the cusp of a fresh wave of COVID-19 driven by the Delta variant, but past experience suggests that restrictions will remain light touch and there is growing hope... 26th August 2021 · 5 mins read
