Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Middle East Markets Monitor (Oct.) The arrival of an IMF delegation in Egypt and hopes that a deal will soon be concluded have supported the local equity and bond markets over the past few months. Yet, this isn’t the first time that a... 31st October 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Inflationary pressures easing in the Gulf Recent activity data provide further evidence that the Gulf economies are slowing. The good news is that inflationary pressures are easing at the same time. This will boost households’ real incomes... 25th October 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response UAE HSBC/Markit PMI (Sep. 12) September’s PMI data suggest that the UAE’s non-oil sector is growing at a healthy pace on the back of both strong domestic demand and stable external conditions. 3rd October 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Middle East Markets Monitor (Sep.) The combination of an improvement in political conditions and rising hopes of an IMF deal has boosted bond and equity markets in Egypt. But at the same time, the return of foreign investors will... 28th September 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update UAE: New central bank rules positive in the long term New rules limiting the exposure of the UAE’s banks to government entities are unlikely to boost lending to the private sector in the immediate term. But in time, the change in regulations could... 27th September 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Gulf growth starts to slow Political conditions in Egypt have continued to improve in recent months, but the real economy is still struggling. Industrial production has stagnated and strains in the balance of payments persist... 26th September 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update UAE and Saudi still growing at a healthy pace PMIs for the UAE and Saudi Arabia show that their respective non-oil private sectors continued to grow at a healthy pace in August. However, we think both are set to slow over the rest of the year. 4th September 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Middle East Markets Monitor (Aug.) On the back of ample liquidity, scarce supply and low interest rates, highly-rated bond markets in the oil-rich Gulf should continue to outperform other Middle Eastern assets in the coming months... 30th August 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack IMF comes to the rescue Concerns over the balance of payments positions of some of the resource-poor Arab countries have faded as Morocco and Jordan have secured funding from the IMF. The recent surge in global agricultural... 29th August 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Price pressures have eased across the Middle East Inflation pressures are easing in most countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. The drop in global commodity prices has led to a fall in food price inflation across the region. Meanwhile... 19th July 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update The UAE’s energy policy should help to ease supply concerns Today’s announcement that the UAE has approved plans for its first nuclear power plant should help to reduce fears that even more oil will have to be used for domestic consumption rather than exported... 18th July 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response UAE HSBC/Markit PMI (Jun.) The UAE’s PMI fell slightly in June but the headline index still point towards a modest improvement in private sector activity between Q1 and Q2. 3rd July 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Focus Oil-poor countries could still outperform in the long term The economic prospects for some of the resource-poor Arab countries are brighter than their current conditions suggest. Although political transitions are proving difficult, we still think that they... 28th June 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Middle East Markets Monitor (Jun.) The escalation in the euro-zone crisis and recent falls in the oil price have weighed heavily on the Arab region’s equity markets over the past month. Indeed, even if Dubai and Qatar are upgraded to... 14th June 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Banks in the Gulf are well placed to weather the storm One of the main channels through which the euro-zone debt crisis could affect the oil-rich Gulf economies is via a drop in foreign capital inflows due to heightened global risk aversion. In particular... 13th June 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook Euro crisis clouds the outlook The combination of a deep recession in the euro-zone and the Arab world’s own political turmoil will act as a drag on the region’s economies in the near term. The North African countries are likely to... 7th June 2012 · 1 min read
