Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly

Egypt post-election policy shift? Saudi gigaproject delays

Inflation in Egypt slowed further in November but, with President al-Sisi all but certain to be confirmed as the winner of the recent election, policy moves over the coming weeks and months will...

14th December 2023 · 6 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Nov. 23)

Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate rose a touch, from 1.6% y/y in October to 1.7% y/y in November, which is still low by the standards of the past two years. And we think disinflation will resume...

14th December 2023 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook

Another year of sluggish growth

Economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa will strengthen a little in 2024 but is likely to come in well below consensus expectations. OPEC+’s cautious approach to oil policy will keep a lid...

13th December 2023 · 22 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly

Egypt’s presidential election, Saudi budget approved

The result of Egypt’s presidential election that concludes next week is a formality, but once the vote is out of the way, it seems likely that economic policy will shift in a more orthodox direction...

7th December 2023 · 8 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

November PMIs

The batch of PMIs for November from the Middle East and North Africa showed that non-hydrocarbon private sectors in the Gulf have sustained strong momentum at the end of 2023. Elsewhere, while there...

5th December 2023 · 3 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly

COP28 and OPEC+, Saudi secures 2030 World Expo

While COP28 is getting underway in Dubai, attention may be drawn instead to events in Vienna today, where OPEC+ has reportedly agreed to reduce its oil production by a further 1mn bpd. This would...

30th November 2023 · 7 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack

Middle East and North Africa Chart Pack (Nov. 2023)

Our Middle East and North Africa Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments After a sharp slowdown this year, GDP growth across the Middle East and North...

28th November 2023 · 1 min read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly

OPEC+ drama ensues, Saudi-China currency swap

The surprise delay to the OPEC+ meeting to next week has only added to speculation that the slide in oil prices in recent months and the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas conflict could prompt the group to...

23rd November 2023 · 7 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly

Saudi’s Civil Code, Saudi solar & nuclear, Egypt-Israel gas

Saudi Arabia’s new Civil Code should help to remove some of the uncertainty in commercial law and marks another step on the path to raising foreign investment. Meanwhile, a new raft of solar projects...

16th November 2023 · 7 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Update

Saudi Arabia: recession nearing an end

The latest Saudi GDP data paint a downbeat picture in which the recession has deepened amid oil output cuts. But the good news is that the recession looks to be coming to an end. And we think the...

15th November 2023 · 4 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Oct. 2023)

Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate edged down from 1.7% y/y in September to 1.6% y/y in October, the weakest pace of inflation in nearly two years, and we expect that inflation will continue to...

15th November 2023 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly

Saudi FDI revisions, Egypt-IMF deal, October’s PMIs

Saudi Arabia’s revised foreign direct investment data paint a far rosier picture than previously, but there is still work to be done to meet the punchy targets of Vision 2030. Elsewhere, Egypt’s...

9th November 2023 · 7 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Economics Update

How credible are the region’s currency pegs?

Persistent balance of payments strains brought pressure on some of the region’s non-oil producing countries who employ fixed exchange rate regimes. FX reserves have been depleted to support currencies...

9th November 2023 · 3 mins read

Event

Drop-In: That Xi-Biden meet in context – How fracturing is reshaping the global outlook

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The splintering of the world economy into competing US and China-aligned blocs is dominating the macro and financial and commodities markets outlook.

Middle East & North Africa Economics Focus

Where does Saudi Arabia sit in a fracturing world?

The past few years have seen Saudi Arabia continue to move away from the US orbit and, as part of our work on global fracturing, we no longer consider Saudi to be unaligned between the US and China...

7th November 2023 · 14 mins read