Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly MENA Weekly: OPEC+ goes bold, Trump heads to the Gulf OPEC+’s decision to speed up the pace of oil output increases will help the Gulf members to recapture market share over the next few years, while also providing a boost to headline GDP growth... 8th May 2025 · 8 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update What would it take for Saudi to do a U-turn on oil policy? Saudi Arabia has shifted back towards an oil policy of aggressively raising oil output to recapture market share and the Kingdom’s strong balance sheet means that it can “live with a prolonged period... 8th May 2025 · 5 mins read
Commodities Update New (lower) oil price forecasts Given the shift in OPEC+ policy over the weekend, the global oil market will, all else equal, be better supplied over the coming years than previously looked likely. Accordingly, having consistently... 6th May 2025 · 3 mins read
Commodities Weekly Commodities Weekly: Saudi Arabia raises the oil market stakes Reports from Riyadh this week, which suggested that Saudi Arabia is losing patience with production cuts, have further clouded the outlook for oil supply. It’s possible that the message was intended... 2nd May 2025 · 4 mins read
Commodities Update The implications of a Saudi Arabia oil market pivot Oil prices have now fallen by about 18% since ‘Liberation Day’, and one could make the case for them being in oversold territory – particularly if US tariffs are rowed back further, as we expect. But... 1st May 2025 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Saudi oil policy shift, Vision 2030 progress Reports suggest that Saudi Arabia may be preparing for a return to an oil policy in which it raises output more quickly in order to recapture market share. While that might lift oil revenues, it won't... 1st May 2025 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response Saudi Arabia GDP (Q1 ‘25, Flash Estimate) Saudi Arabia’s flash estimate of Q1 GDP showed that the Kingdom’s economy grew by 0.9% q/q , translating into a year-on-year increase of just 2.7% to kick off the year. But with revisions and rebases... 1st May 2025 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi’s non-oil sector unlikely to sustain strong start Saudi Arabia’s economy enjoyed a relatively strong start to the year underpinned by its non-oil sector. But while GDP growth will accelerate this year as oil output rises, the coinciding slip in oil... 28th April 2025 · 3 mins read
Commodities Weekly Commodities Weekly: Oil supply concerns retake the reins While various tariff-related carveouts have helped to ease concerns about some of the most acute tail-risks facing global oil demand, support for benchmark prices is being eroded by renewed concerns... 25th April 2025 · 4 mins read
Event Drop-In: What next for oil prices? 1746619200 We’d been warning for months about the supply risks to oil prices, so Saturday's OPEC+ decision to add 410,000 barrels per day from June wasn't surprising in that sense.
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly MENA Weekly: Egypt’s new budget, Saudi fiscal tightening & real estate Egypt’s draft FY2025/26 Budget reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fiscal austerity which should put the public debt-to-GDP ratio on a downwards path. Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia’s government... 24th April 2025 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly MENA Weekly: OPEC+, Saudi-US nuclear talks, Egypt-Qatar investment OPEC+’s new compensatory cuts appear to a sign of the larger Gulf states seeking to regain market share from the group’s overproducers. But a renewed fall in oil prices could derail these plans... 17th April 2025 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack (Apr. '25) Our Middle East & North Africa Economics Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments. The direct impact of Trump’s trade war on the region is likely to be... 16th April 2025 · 0 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Mar. 2025) Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate picked up to 2.3% y/y in March, the fastest pace since the middle of 2023. And inflation strengthened across most categories of the CPI basket, suggesting that... 15th April 2025 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly How might the Gulf respond to the slip in oil prices? President Trump’s tariffs and OPEC+’s surprise oil output hike has sent oil prices tumbling over the past two weeks and, despite a recovery yesterday, are now below breakeven fiscal and external... 10th April 2025 · 8 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Oil needs to fall a long way before Gulf’s pegs are at risk Oil prices have now fallen well below the level needed to balance current accounts across much of the Gulf, which may raise concerns about the sustainability of the region’s dollar pegs. And, indeed... 9th April 2025 · 3 mins read
