Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook Gulf growth to be trimmed by oil output cuts Headline GDP growth in the Gulf looks is likely to slow to an eight-year low of 1.5% in 2017. However, this will be entirely the result of oil production cuts as countries comply with last year’s OPEC... 20th March 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Steady stream of Gulf dollar bond sales continues Oman and, for the first time, Kuwait are expected to sell dollar bonds in the coming weeks, continuing the raft of issuances from the Gulf countries over the past year. Kuwait’s strong balance sheet... 28th February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Gulf’s non-oil sectors show signs of recovery The latest activity data suggest that non-oil sectors in the two largest Gulf economies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are starting to recover from their slumps in early 2016. Both countries have been... 20th February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Qatar’s credit boom comes to an end, lending growth to stay weak The recent sharp slowdown in private sector credit growth, coupled with falling real estate prices, has ignited concerns that Qatar’s credit boom of the past few years is quickly unravelling. For now... 9th February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Egypt’s pound float: short-term pain, long-term gain The 50% fall in the Egyptian pound against the US dollar since the central bank floated the currency at the start of November will cause economic growth to slow sharply in the coming quarters... 28th November 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Gulf equity markets stumble, despite oil rally Equity markets across the Gulf have struggled over the past month, in spite of a further recovery in oil prices. At the same time, speculation has increased that Saudi Arabia will devalue the riyal... 30th May 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Qatar: rapid credit growth starting to ring alarm bells Qatar has been one of the best performing economies in the MENA region over the past decade and one of the key drivers of this has been the rapid growth of bank lending. However, we are concerned that... 11th April 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egyptian equities drop, yields rise as external concerns resurface Renewed concerns over Egypt’s external position, coupled with fresh security fears in light of the Russian plane crash in the Sinai, have caused the country’s equity market to slump and dollar bond... 26th November 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook Gulf countries weathering the storm, but growth to weaken The Gulf economies have weathered the storm created by low oil prices relatively well this year, with foreign exchange reserves having been drawn down to sustain spending. Large savings mean that this... 15th June 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Saudi Arabia and Egypt follow divergent paths The latest activity data suggest that the MENA region’s two largest economies, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have headed in opposite directions at the start of 2015. After recording strong growth last year... 27th May 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Qatar to remain a strong performer, but downside risks mounting Qatar was the MENA region’s best performing economy last year and, with low oil prices unlikely to derail the government’s investment programme, we expect it to grow at a decent clip of 5.0-5.5% in... 7th May 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Equities in the Gulf rebound as Yemen fears ease While the crisis in Yemen has dragged on, stock markets in the Gulf have rebounded in the past month as fears that it could trigger a broader regional conflict have eased. 28th April 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Region’s politics take another twist The conflict in Yemen and an outline nuclear agreement between Iran and the West has thrust the region’s politics back into the spotlight. Although it looks like problems in Yemen are likely to drag... 23rd April 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Assessing the impact of a potential nuclear deal with Iran There are many details that still need to be ironed out, but earlier this month Iran and the West moved another step closer to securing an agreement over Tehran’s nuclear programme. As we explain in... 9th April 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Yemen crisis weighs on region’s equity markets The unfolding crisis in Yemen and the launch of air strikes by Saudi Arabia and its allies on the Houthi rebels has triggered a sell-off in equity markets across the MENA region over the past week or... 31st March 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Saudi Arabia refuses to budge Even though oil prices continue to languish at around $55pb, there is still no sign that Saudi Arabia will give in to pressure from other OPEC members to cut oil output. Oil Minister, Ali al-Naimi... 25th March 2015 · 1 min read
