Filtered by Subscriptions: Middle East & North Africa Economics Use setting Middle East & North Africa Economics
Sell-off’s hit to oil likely to be reversed Fears of a US recession have rattled global financial markets earlier in the week, and those in the Middle East weren’t spared. We think the spillover into the oil market has gone too far, though, and it raises …
8th August 2024
This report has been updated with additional analysis and a chart and table of key figures. Inflation falls despite subsidy cuts Egypt’s headline inflation slowed from 27.5% y/y in June to 25.7% y/y in July, its lowest rate since December 2022. And this …
The UAE’s economy has been the strongest performer in the Gulf over the past year or so and a robust non-oil sector should help the UAE retain its crown as the fastest growing economy in the region. Recently-released Q1 GDP data from Abu Dhabi and Dubai …
6th August 2024
Fears of a US recession have rattled EM equity markets at a time when EM economies themselves are showing more pronounced signs of weakness. Most EM currencies have held up well, suggesting a dovish tilt may come from EM central banks – particularly those …
5th August 2024
Non-oil sectors in the Gulf continue to cool This response has been updated with additional analysis, including of Qatar's PMI. July’s batch of PMIs were softer across the board, adding to signs that activity in private non-hydrocarbon sectors in the Gulf …
Regional tensions rise after Israel strikes Israel’s assassination of high-ranking Hezbollah and Hamas officials this week in retaliation for the rocket strike on Israeli-occupied Golan Heights has left tensions on the brink of boiling over. An aggressive …
1st August 2024
Strong non-oil growth underpins solid Q2 Saudi Arabia’s flash estimate of GDP showed that that the economy grew by a solid 1.4% q/q in Q2 and, while non-oil activity is likely to slow over the second half of this year, it will be more than offset by …
31st July 2024
Growth in the Gulf economies is likely to pick up in the coming quarters, particularly as oil output starts to rise from October. The outlook will become more challenging from 2025 as oil prices fall back and it becomes more difficult to sustain loose …
29th July 2024
The rocket strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the weekend has heightened fears of a full-blown conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. For Israel, this risks adding to pressure on its already strained public finances, and would …
Continuing blackouts in Egypt show need for a fix Egypt’s electricity blackouts have persisted this week and, while there is light at the end of the tunnel, the government needs to boost energy investments to avoid a repeat of power cuts in the coming …
25th July 2024
The electricity blackouts that have blighted Egypt this summer may be nearing an end. But in the absence of new major gas discoveries, in the longer run rising energy demand will result in renewed balance of payments problems from higher imports or will …
23rd July 2024
Trump sets out his stall for warmer Saudi ties Donald Trump has outlined his intentions to improve relations with Saudi Arabia if he wins re-election. But potential tensions over the handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict mean that, for now, Saudi officials …
18th July 2024
Inflation nudges down but a minor bump is on the cards in Q3 Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate edged slightly down to a six-month low of 1.5% y/y in June and, while we expect a small increase in the headline rate during Q3, the bigger picture remains …
16th July 2024
The economic impact of Saudi’s new pension age New pension directives laid out in Saudi Arabia have raised the retirement age in the Kingdom. The potential boost to the size of the labour force could strengthen GDP growth over the coming decades. The …
11th July 2024
Saudi Arabia’s GDP growth is likely to pick up, and markedly so in 2025. But that will be driven by rising oil output. We think that activity in the non-oil economy will slow. Indeed, there are signs in the low-profile data that this has already started …
Inflation falls despite bread price hikes Egypt’s headline inflation slowed from 28.1% y/y in May to 27.5% y/y in June, the lowest outturn since the start of 2023. And this came in spite of the baladi bread price hike. Increases to electricity and fuel …
10th July 2024
A facelift for Egypt’s cabinet, but no shift in policy Egypt’s cabinet was shaken up this week but the new faces are highly unlikely to diverge from the economic policy path their predecessors were on, particularly when it comes to the public finances. …
4th July 2024
Egypt’s government faces a likely further rise in debt servicing costs over the coming year. But the good news is that the budget for the 2024/25 fiscal year (which started this week) reaffirmed the commitment to fiscal consolidation. So long as the …
3rd July 2024
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MbS) ultimate succession to become king is inevitable and a formality. Having been the de-facto leader of the Kingdom for several years it may not result in much of a deviation in economic policymaking. …
1st July 2024
This page brings together our analysis of how Donald Trump's return to the White House will affect the outlook for emerging economies. Use the Table of Contents on the right to navigate. All of our analysis on the election, including the implications for …
28th June 2024
Egypt needs to adapt to keep the lights on Daily blackouts in Egypt have returned as gas shortages intensify and, while the government can afford to spend its way out of the issue for now, climate risks require a permanent shift in strategy. Temperatures …
27th June 2024
Bank Al-Maghrib joins the EM rate cutters Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) announced this afternoon that it has cut its key policy interest rate by 25bp, to 2.75%. We expect that the Bank will continue to tread cautiously, as the governor has …
25th June 2024
Growth in the Gulf economies is likely to pick up in the coming quarters, particularly as oil output starts to rise from October. We think non-oil sectors will continue to grow strongly. But the outlook will become more challenging from 2025 as oil prices …
Lebanon on verge of being drawn into the war Skirmishes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have intensified, culminating in Israel’s approval of an “offensive” into Lebanon this week. Not only does this threaten to exacerbate Lebanon’s prolonged …
20th June 2024
Overview – Growth in the Gulf economies is likely to pick up in the coming quarters, particularly as oil output starts to rise from October. We think non-oil sectors will continue to grow strongly. But the outlook will become more challenging from 2025 as …
18th June 2024
Morocco: riding the EV wave Morocco’s domestic auto industry has boomed over the past decade and is drawing investment from major firms in Europe and China. With plans to more than double output in the coming years, the sector is likely to provide a …
13th June 2024
Inflation hits slowest pace in over a year Egypt’s headline inflation dropped back from 32.5% y/y in April to 28.1% y/y, the lowest outturn since the start of 2023. Inflation is likely to rise again in June and July due to government price hikes, …
10th June 2024
UAE emerges as clear winner from OPEC+ decision The decision by OPEC+ to keep oil production lower this year means that GDP growth across the Gulf will be a little weaker than we had previously expected. However, the UAE came away from the meeting the …
6th June 2024
At long last, OPEC+ outlined a plan on Sunday for when and how members would unwind the large production curbs currently in place. We assume that this plan is followed th rough and that output gradually increases from October, pushing the crude market …
4th June 2024
This response has been updated with additional analysis of the UAE's May release. Gulf continues to lead the way as Egypt shows positive signs May’s batch of PMIs showed that private non-oil sectors have remained a point of strength in the Gulf economies …
The decision by OPEC+ to keep oil production lower over the rest of this year means that oil sectors in the Gulf will grow more slowly than we had previously anticipated and we have revised down our GDP growth forecasts for this year and next. The …
3rd June 2024
Stick or twist for OPEC+ Oil markets are gearing up for Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting which looks set to be a close call on how the group decides to take forward oil policy. OPEC+ has reduced its oil output by 3.2mn bpd since October 2022, but oil prices have …
30th May 2024
Low oil output in the Gulf has constrained economic growth so far this year and the upcoming OPEC+ meeting will prove pivotal to the outlook over the rest of this year. Elsewhere in Middle East and North Africa, external financial support has mostly …
29th May 2024
US pulling Saudi back from China’s orbit US officials this week suggested that a mooted grand deal with Saudi Arabia could be signed off in the coming weeks. This would redraw how the Kingdom aligns itself in a fracturing global economy. Jake Sullivan, …
23rd May 2024
After exiting recession in Q1, Saudi Arabia’s economy should continue to expand over the rest of this year on the back of strong private non-oil growth and higher oil output. But next month’s OPEC meeting is likely to be a close call and if the group (led …
22nd May 2024
The death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi yesterday creates greater uncertainty over the succession planning for the next Supreme Leader. But, taking a step back, the balance of political power within Iran means that there is unlikely to be a major …
20th May 2024
Saudi’s gigaprojects stick or twist moment Comments from Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan this week have added to the growing discourse of whether the Kingdom can afford, both literally and figuratively, to continue with its vast suite …
16th May 2024
This note answers some of the most frequently asked questions that we received from clients during a recent online briefing about the latest US tariffs on China. Watch the original briefing here . What has been announced? Yesterday was the end of a …
15th May 2024
Egypt’s shift back toward economic orthodoxy will result in near-term economic pain, but it could also pave the way for faster economic growth over a longer horizon. Part of that will rest on Egypt capitalising on its improved external competitiveness, …
Inflation holds steady but may pick up in H2 Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate was unchanged at 1.6% y/y in April and, while we think that there may be a slight acceleration at the start of Q3, the bigger picture is that inflation in the Kingdom is …
The dissolution of Kuwait’s parliament for the fourth time in two years highlights political infighting that has held back the economy for years. While much remains uncertain, there is now a clear path for fiscal policy to be loosened and help to unlock …
13th May 2024
Is the UAE set to butt heads with OPEC again? The UAE‘s announcement that its oil production capacity has been raised ahead of schedule provides further evidence of its desire to raise actual output. But with growing rumours that OPEC may hold off from …
9th May 2024
This webpage has been updated with additional analysis, as well as a Chart and Table of key data. Inflation continues to tick down after orthodox shift Egypt’s headline inflation rate slowed from 33.3% y/y in March to 32.5% y/y in April and we think that …
Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit widened further at the start of this year and, for now at least, the government seems comfortable with maintaining the loose fiscal stance and issuing more debt. If oil prices fall back further as we expect, however, a return …
7th May 2024
Is Saudi Arabia moving away from China’s orbit? Reports that the US and Saudi Arabia are close to a new security pact would, if confirmed, cause us to re-evaluate our view of the Kingdom’s alignment in a fracturing global economy. Prior to the start of …
2nd May 2024
This interactive dashboard allows you to explore all of our forecasts and key data for economies in the Middle East & North Africa. If you have subscriber access to the data underlying this redesigned dashboard, you can download it via the menu options in …
This Rapid Response has been updated with additional analysis, as well as a chart and table of key data. Growth to strengthen over 2024 Saudi Arabia’s flash estimate of GDP showed that the economy exited recession in Q1 and we expect the recovery to …
1st May 2024
All the signs suggest that a second Trump administration would take a more protectionist approach to trade. Export demand in Mexico, East Asia and ASEAN would be particularly hard hit by a universal US import tariff or a dollar devaluation, and those …
29th April 2024
Stalling privatisation drive a blot on Egypt’s reforms Having previously pledged to reinvigorate its state privatisation drive, Egyptian officials have significantly pared back their targets. This could remain the one demerit on its IMF report card. …
25th April 2024
The policy shifts underway in Turkey, Nigeria, Argentina and Egypt have ticked a lot of the right boxes so far, but it will take years for the full economic benefits to materialise and require policymakers to remain committed to reforms. We’re most …
24th April 2024
