Egypt and the IMF, Red Sea disruptions and the Gulf

IMF officials have been in Egypt this week to discuss a new financing package and, while no news has emerged yet, the accelerating depreciation of the pound on the parallel market underscores Egypt’s growing need to seal the deal. There’s a chance that all will be revealed around the time of next Thursday’s Central Bank of Egypt policy meeting. Elsewhere, escalating tensions in the Red Sea have seen Maersk suspend calls to Jeddah and Salalah ports. While oil exports from Saudi and Oman should be unscathed, goods imports could be disrupted and this could create fresh inflationary pressures.