Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly

OPEC+ meeting, Saudi 2026 Budget, MENA’s debt splurge

This weekend’s OPEC+ meeting is likely to see the group agree to a further unwinding of oil production cuts in November, with some suggestions it could be one of the most aggressive moves yet...

2nd October 2025 · 7 mins read

Emerging Markets Economics Update

Fiscal realities now biting in some major oil producers

The 2026 budgets announced in Russia and Saudi Arabia in the past week point to significant fiscal tightening following declines in oil revenues and budget blowouts this year. Pressures for fiscal...

2nd October 2025 · 4 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Update

Saudi forced to step up austerity as low oil prices bite

Saudi Arabia’s 2026 Pre-Budget Statement reaffirmed that the Kingdom’s recent turn to fiscal consolidation is here to stay and, in fact, will be stepped up after the budget deficit for this year is...

30th September 2025 · 3 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack

Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack (Sep. '25)

Our Middle East & North Africa Economics Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments. The Middle East and North Africa is set to record its fastest GDP...

26th September 2025 · 1 min read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly

Lebanon’s debt, Saudi & Dubai real estate

Lebanon’s Eurobonds are trading at their strongest in over four years as investors’ hopes of a sovereign debt restructuring build amid the new government’s reform push. But we’d caution that, for a...

25th September 2025 · 7 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Update

Saudi’s lifting of foreign ownership limits not a gamechanger

Saudi Arabia’s reform push looks set to take another step forward with suggestions that it will lift foreign ownership limits on local equities before the end of this year. While such a move will help...

24th September 2025 · 4 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly

Fed and the Gulf, Saudi’s GBI inclusion, BAM meeting

Central banks in the Gulf followed the Fed by cutting interest rates by 25bp, but the backdrop of lower oil prices is likely to temper the impact of looser monetary policy on credit growth. Meanwhile...

18th September 2025 · 7 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook

Regional pick up, but divergence under the surface

The Middle East and North Africa is set to record its fastest GDP growth – outside of the post-pandemic recovery – in well over a decade over the course of 2026-27. Egypt and Morocco are emerging as...

18th September 2025 · 19 mins read

Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack

Emerging Markets Chart Pack (Sep. 2025)

EM GDP growth generally held up well in H1 but we think it will soften over the second half of the year as US tariffs, tighter fiscal policy and slowing wage growth bite. The inflation outlook is...

17th September 2025 · 1 min read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Update

Saudi inflation rebased, headline rate hits two-year high

The rebasing of Saudi Arabia’s inflation data, which came alongside August’s data release, has resulted in only minor changes to the headline inflation readings, but it underlines the shifts in...

15th September 2025 · 3 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly

Saudi foreign investment report, OPEC+ decision

Media reports picked up on data published by Saudi Arabia this week which showed that 2024 was a record year for foreign direct investment inflows. But this didn’t take account of the fact that there...

11th September 2025 · 7 mins read

Commodities Update

OPEC+ desire to pump will lead to oil prices falling

OPEC+ seems to be cautiously optimistic on the strength of the oil market as it remains committed to unwinding voluntary output cuts. However, we suspect it will become increasingly clear that the oil...

8th September 2025 · 4 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly

OPEC+ meeting, Saudi debt issuances & housing reforms

We suspect that the OPEC+ meeting on Sunday will result in a decision to keep oil production unchanged in October, rather than raise production further. But the risks to oil prices are still skewed to...

4th September 2025 · 8 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Middle East & North Africa PMIs (Aug. ‘25)

The whole economy PMIs for August strengthened a little in the Gulf states, though the surveys still suggest that activity private non-oil sectors has softened in Q3. Elsewhere, while Egypt’s PMI fell...

3rd September 2025 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly

Saudi Vision 2030 & non-oil trade, Tunisia protests

A report from the Saudi statistics office this week provided further evidence that women are playing a greater role in the economy – one area where the Vision 2030 reforms have had significant success...

28th August 2025 · 6 mins read