Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Inflation pressures easing across the MENA region The past month has brought further evidence that inflation is slowing across the MENA region. In Saudi Arabia, inflation now stands at its lowest rate in more than eight years, while price pressures... 26th February 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook Gulf set for weaker growth, North Africa to outperform The fall in oil prices has led to a sharp reversal of fortunes in the Middle East and North Africa. Fears of steep falls in output in the Gulf are overdone, but growth will weaken in the coming years... 12th February 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update How the fall in oil prices will benefit North Africa We’ve written extensively in recent months about the losses the Gulf economies face in light of the plunge in oil prices. But in this Watch we explain why the North African economies of Egypt, Morocco... 13th January 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update What does the fall in oil prices mean for Dubai’s debts? The recent plunge in Dubai’s stock market, coming alongside a drop in oil prices, has rekindled fears that the Emirate could face renewed problems with its large corporate debts. For our part, we... 17th December 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Gulf economies take plunge in oil prices in their stride The slump in oil prices has caused the Gulf’s equity markets to tumble, but the region’s governments still seem to be unfazed. Oman aside, no country has announced cuts in public spending. And Saudi... 11th December 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Banks in the Gulf well placed to weather low oil prices The slump in oil prices has caused concerns to emerge about the exposure of financial institutions to energy companies, but for banks in the Gulf this risk seems small. They are more vulnerable to a... 10th December 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Gulf set to resist pressure to cut oil output Comments ahead of today’s OPEC meeting, playing down calls for a cut in the cartel’s output target, suggest that the Gulf States aren’t too alarmed by the recent slide in oil prices. Indeed, Saudi... 27th November 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Gulf dollar pegs under little threat from lower oil prices The sharp fall in oil prices in recent months has led some to call into question the sustainability of the Gulf’s dollar pegs. However, we think the risk of currency devaluation is relatively small. 13th November 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Whole Economy PMIs (Oct.) September’s Brazilian industrial production data suggest that the sector remained a drag on the overall economy in the third quarter and, with both domestic and external demand set to remain weak, it... 4th November 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Little reaction in the Gulf to fall in oil prices The slide in oil prices this month has raised concerns in some quarters that the Gulf States will need to tighten fiscal policy. But while the prospect of this has been talked about in Oman, lower oil... 30th October 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Non-oil sectors in the Gulf performing well September’s ‘whole economy’ PMI data suggest that non-oil sectors in the Gulf, and in Saudi Arabia in particular, ended the third quarter on a strong note. Meanwhile, the survey provided further... 7th October 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Egypt's economic recovery gathers pace Having suffered following last summer’s “second revolution”, the Egyptian economy is finally starting to gather steam. Activity has been buoyed by recent political stability and the government’s Gulf... 25th September 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s economic recovery continues The pick-up in Egypt’s ‘whole economy’ PMI last month suggests that the economy has continued to make a gradual recovery from last summer’s “second revolution”. Meanwhile, non-oil sectors in the Gulf... 3rd September 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Dubai's GREs slowly tackling their debt problems Over the past month Dubai’s government-related entities (GREs), which were at the heart of the Emirate’s crisis in 2009, have made further efforts to tackle their huge mountains of debt. The recovery... 28th August 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Gulf’s stock market rally loses steam Equity markets in the Gulf have been among the best performers in the world over the previous year, but they’ve flat-lined during the past month. The one exception is Saudi Arabia, where the stock... 19th August 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Weaker Saudi credit growth could be here to stay The past few months have brought further evidence that credit growth is coming off the boil in parts of the Gulf. As we explain in this Watch, there are reasons to think that this could prove to be... 7th August 2014 · 1 min read