Middle East & North Africa Economics Update UAE’s to remain the Gulf’s star economy The UAE’s economy has been the strongest performer in the Gulf over the past year or so and a robust non-oil sector should help the UAE retain its crown as the fastest growing economy in the region. 6th August 2024 · 4 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update US recession concerns, the market sell-off and EMs Fears of a US recession have rattled EM equity markets at a time when EM economies themselves are showing more pronounced signs of weakness. Most EM currencies have held up well, suggesting a dovish... 5th August 2024 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update The macro impact of an Israel-Hezbollah conflict The rocket strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the weekend has heightened fears of a full-blown conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. For Israel, this risks adding to... 29th July 2024 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s energy woes need a permanent fix The electricity blackouts that have blighted Egypt this summer may be nearing an end. But in the absence of new major gas discoveries, in the longer run rising energy demand will result in renewed... 23rd July 2024 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi non-oil activity cooling Saudi Arabia’s GDP growth is likely to pick up, and markedly so in 2025. But that will be driven by rising oil output. We think that activity in the non-oil economy will slow. Indeed, there are signs... 11th July 2024 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt needs to stick to frugality to ease debt fears Egypt’s government faces a likely further rise in debt servicing costs over the coming year. But the good news is that the budget for the 2024/25 fiscal year (which started this week) reaffirmed the... 3rd July 2024 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi Arabia and the possible implications of MbS as king Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MbS) ultimate succession to become king is inevitable and a formality. Having been the de-facto leader of the Kingdom for several years it may not... 1st July 2024 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update OPEC+ decision to keep a lid on Gulf economies’ growth The decision by OPEC+ to keep oil production lower over the rest of this year means that oil sectors in the Gulf will grow more slowly than we had previously anticipated and we have revised down our... 3rd June 2024 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi GDP growth will hinge on OPEC+ decision After exiting recession in Q1, Saudi Arabia’s economy should continue to expand over the rest of this year on the back of strong private non-oil growth and higher oil output. But next month’s OPEC... 22nd May 2024 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Iran’s succession plans unlikely to fix economic woes The death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi yesterday creates greater uncertainty over the succession planning for the next Supreme Leader. But, taking a step back, the balance of political power... 20th May 2024 · 4 mins read
Global Economics Update What the latest US tariffs mean for the global economy We held an online Drop-In session today to discuss the Biden administration’s new tariffs on goods from China. This Update answers several of the questions that we received about the direct effects of... 15th May 2024 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Can Egypt take advantage of a weak pound? Egypt’s shift back toward economic orthodoxy will result in near-term economic pain, but it could also pave the way for faster economic growth over a longer horizon. Part of that will rest on Egypt... 15th May 2024 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Kuwait: déjà vu or the start of something new? The dissolution of Kuwait’s parliament for the fourth time in two years highlights political infighting that has held back the economy for years. While much remains uncertain, there is now a clear... 13th May 2024 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi Arabia can stick with its loose fiscal stance (for now) Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit widened further at the start of this year and, for now at least, the government seems comfortable with maintaining the loose fiscal stance and issuing more debt. If oil... 7th May 2024 · 4 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update “Turnaround EMs”: good start but plenty more to do The policy shifts underway in Turkey, Nigeria, Argentina and Egypt have ticked a lot of the right boxes so far, but it will take years for the full economic benefits to materialise and require... 24th April 2024 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update UAE set to be top of the class again in 2024 The UAE’s economy outperformed the other Gulf economies in 2023 and we think that this outperformance will continue this year. 23rd April 2024 · 4 mins read
