Climate Economics Update Solar take-up in Saudi will be felt in global oil markets The renewable rollout in Saudi Arabia is set to accelerate on the back of cheap solar panel imports from China. Given that Saudi Arabia is one of a few countries that directly burns crude oil for... 5th February 2025 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response Middle East & North Africa PMIs (Jan. 2025) January’s batch of PMIs showed a mixed result as the region’s two largest economies, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, recorded their strongest outturns in several years, while surveys from Kuwait and Qatar... 4th February 2025 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly MENA Weekly: OPEC+ and Trump, Egypt’s debt issuance President Trump’s call for OPEC+ to “bring down the cost of oil” is unlikely to change the outcome of group’s meeting on Monday; it is likely to stick to plans to gradually raise oil output from April... 30th January 2025 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response Saudi Arabia GDP (Q4 2024, Flash Est.) Saudi Arabia’s flash estimate of GDP showed that the economy grew by just 0.3% q/q in the final quarter of 2024, marking the slowest rate of expansion in a year. We think GDP growth will accelerate... 30th January 2025 · 2 mins read
Commodities Rapid Response Trump leaves door open for Saudi to flood the market The news from Davos that President Trump will “ask Saudi Arabia and Opec to bring down the cost of oil” is certainly in keeping with his desire for lower gasoline prices and his clear intention to use... 23rd January 2025 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly MENA Weekly: Saudi-US relations already warming under Trump Relations between Saudi Arabia and the US already appear to be on a stronger footing during Donald Trump’s first few days in office, adding to signs that it’s drift towards China is over. The Kingdom... 23rd January 2025 · 8 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update How worrying is Saudi Arabia’s public debt trajectory? Saudi Arabia’s government has been the largest EM issuer of hard currency debt over the past few years and this Update considers what will happen to the Kingdom’s public debt burden under different... 20th January 2025 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack (Jan. '25) Our Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack has b een updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments. GDP growth in the Middle East and North Africa will accelerate in 2025 on the... 15th January 2025 · 0 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response Saudi Arabia Consumer & Wholesale Prices (Dec. 2024) Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate eased a touch from 2.0% y/y in November to 1.9% y/y in December and it is likely to hover around these rates over the first half of 2025 before slowing toward 1%... 15th January 2025 · 2 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update FX bond issuance ramps up, but the outlook is cloudy EM sovereign FX debt issuance surged over the past year and at the start of 2025, albeit with many sovereigns returning to global markets and issuing at high interest rates. Borrowing does not look... 14th January 2025 · 4 mins read
Commodities Update Assessing the risks to energy prices While upside risks to energy prices have garnered plenty of attention in recent months, there are several downside risks that are worth noting. Although we would characterise the downside risks –... 9th January 2025 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Saudi debt issuance, Egypt-IMF, Lebanon’s new president Saudi Arabia kicked off the year with bumper international debt issuance and, with foreign investment remaining weak and budget deficits likely to persist, the government’s reliance on capital markets... 9th January 2025 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response PMIs (Dec. 2024) December’s batch of PMIs declined for the most part across the Gulf but we doubt that the strength of non-oil activity will be sustained in 2025, particularly in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Elsewhere... 6th January 2025 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Saudi inflation, Moroccan rates Saudi inflation rose further in November but there were tentative signs that some of the recent drivers of higher price pressures are fading and we expect the headline rate to drop back towards 1% by... 19th December 2024 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi economy to underwhelm in 2025 Saudi Arabia’s constrained approach to oil policy is here to stay until April and, coupled with the turn to fiscal consolidation, means growth will pick up by less than others expect in 2025. 19th December 2024 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly OPEC+ and Gulf GDP, Syria after Assad, MENA World Cups OPEC+’s decision to once again push back the unwinding of oil output cuts will keep a lid on economic growth in the Gulf and we expect GDP to expand by less than others anticipate next year. Elsewhere... 12th December 2024 · 8 mins read