Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi’s oil policy shift and what it means for the Gulf The sharp fall in oil prices today will push current account and budget positions into deficit across the Gulf, but these can be financed from large savings for some time. Dollar pegs should stay... 9th March 2020 · 4 mins read
Commodities Update It’s a war for market share, not price Against a backdrop of a coronavirus-related slump in demand, Saudi Arabia appears to have abandoned efforts to balance the oil market and is instead aiming to protect market share. Its pledge to... 9th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Global Economics Update Oil price slump not a positive for global economy While falling oil prices have historically been deemed a net positive for global demand, there are several reasons to think that the latest slump will only add to the immediate headwinds facing the... 9th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia and the collapse in oil prices The tailspin in global oil prices will push Russia’s current account and budget balances into deficit but shouldn’t create severe strains in the economy. It would probably take a steeper fall in... 9th March 2020 · 4 mins read
Commodities Chart Pack Prices still searching for the bottom Commodity prices continued to fall in February as the coronavirus, which started in China, spread to most other regions of the world and sparked fears of a slowdown in global economic activity. We... 4th March 2020 · 8 mins read
OPEC Watch Collapse in prices to force OPEC+ to cut output We expect OPEC+ to agree to an emergency output cut of an additional 1m bpd for at least three months at its meeting later this week. This should, at a minimum, put a temporary floor under prices. 4th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Energy Update A Democrat could spark higher oil prices We think that, at least initially, the energy proposals of a Democratic President would support oil prices by curbing supply more than demand. 28th February 2020 · 3 mins read
India Chart Pack The coronavirus impact on Indian industry Temporary disruption from the outbreak of the coronavirus should have limited macroeconomic impact on Indian industry. After all, India has a negligible supply-chain exposure to China, where factory... 24th February 2020 · 9 mins read
OPEC Watch OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (Feb.) OPEC production fell sharply in January, but this was mainly the result of supply disruptions in Libya and Iraq. Otherwise, there was little indication in the latest OPEC monthly report that the group... 12th February 2020 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update The oil market to flip into a deficit after Q1 The economic disruption caused by the coronavirus means that we now expect the oil market to be in a surplus in Q1 2020, as opposed to the deficit that we had previously envisioned. However, providing... 11th February 2020 · 3 mins read
Energy Watch Middle East oil supply shocks and the risk premium In this Energy Watch, we look at how geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have historically affected the risk premium in the oil price and what could happen to this premium in the future. We... 7th February 2020 · 8 mins read
Commodities Chart Pack Virus fears to drive prices for some time yet Commodity prices, and energy prices in particular, have been hard hit by the outbreak of coronavirus in China and the prospect of lower global commodities demand. There is still too much uncertainty... 4th February 2020 · 7 mins read
Energy Outlook Oil to outperform Provided that the coronavirus is contained, a gradual pick-up in global economic growth at a time of constrained supply should set the scene for higher oil prices in 2020. In contrast, we expect the... 30th January 2020 · 17 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economic Outlook RBA’s work not done yet Australia’s house prices may rise by 8% this year but consumers are still reeling under high debt loads. With growth set to fall short of potential, we still expect unemployment to rise further which... 16th January 2020 · 22 mins read
OPEC Watch OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (Jan.) OPEC production fell again in December, led once more by Saudi Arabia. We continue to think that OPEC will maintain its production restraint for the remainder of 2020 to support prices. 15th January 2020 · 3 mins read
Energy Update Key energy forecasts for 2020 We think that oil prices will rise in 2020, as the market moves into a small deficit. In contrast, we expect natural gas prices to fall owing to strong supply growth and for this, in turn, to dampen... 10th January 2020 · 3 mins read
