Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Saudi royal tour highlights reform and geopolitical risks Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (known as MbS) is in the midst of a global tour, which has highlighted the challenges facing his Vision 2030 economic reforms as well as ongoing... 15th March 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Market turmoil fails to derail Egypt’s dollar bond sale Egypt defied the recent turmoil in global financial markets and issued $4bn of international bonds earlier this week. The sale was three times oversubscribed and the issuance was split into three... 15th February 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Gulf: higher oil prices prompt shift away from austerity The recent rally in oil prices has led governments in the Gulf to move away from the harsh austerity of recent years. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia announced a raft of bonuses for public sector... 25th January 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Daesh downfall offers respite for smaller economies Political commentary in the region has focussed on the recent upheaval in Saudi Arabia, but one development that has received little attention is the downfall of the militant group, Islamic State (IS... 19th December 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Region holds its breath The Middle East and North Africa has been gripped by political turmoil over the past few weeks. The most high-profile development was the launch of an anti-corruption crackdown in Saudi Arabia, led by... 30th November 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Regional growth slows further The raft of GDP data released over the past month showed that growth across the Middle East & North Africa continued to slow in Q2. Our weighted-average measure of regional GDP expanded by 1.4% y/y in... 20th October 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Saudi Arabia returns to the international bond market Saudi Arabia returned to the international bond market this month in order to plug its twin budget and current account shortfalls. A total of $12.5bn of dollar debt was issued, split into three... 28th September 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Qatar crisis reaches an impasse The diplomatic crisis between Qatar and regional powers seems to be in deadlock. Saudi Arabia and its allies revised their demands in July to something that appeared to be more palatable for Doha, but... 24th August 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Worst fears over Qatar crisis fade Diplomatic efforts have failed to bring an end to the stand-off between Qatar and the so-called Anti-Terror Quartet (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain). Encouragingly, though, there are signs that... 21st July 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Politics rocks the Gulf Political developments have dominated the news in the MENA region this month. In Qatar, financial markets have sold off amid a diplomatic spat with regional powers. So far, though, the broader... 30th June 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack OPEC deal renewed, but Saudi nods towards “exit strategy” OPEC’s decision this month to roll over its oil output cuts displayed a rare sense of cohesion from the cartel, but there are signs that de-facto leader Saudi Arabia is seeking an eventual end to... 30th May 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Saudi Arabia hints at OPEC deal extension Recent comments from Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister, Khalid al-Falih, suggest that OPEC is edging towards an agreement to extend its oil production cuts when it meets in Vienna next month. Having ruled... 21st April 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Recent dip in oil prices not a major concern for the Gulf The recent drop in oil prices, from around US$56pb at the start of March to just over US$51pb at present, is unlikely to be a major cause for alarm in the Gulf. For one thing, oil prices are still... 29th March 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Gulf’s non-oil sectors show signs of recovery The latest activity data suggest that non-oil sectors in the two largest Gulf economies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are starting to recover from their slumps in early 2016. Both countries have been... 20th February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Investors give Egypt the thumbs up Egypt’s recent economic reforms received a warm welcome from investors earlier this month, as the country successfully issued US$4bn of international bonds. The sale was almost double the amount that... 26th January 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Reasons to remain sceptical of “major shift” in Saudi oil policy The recent agreement reached by OPEC and other oil producers to cut output has prompted speculation of a major shift in Saudi Arabia’s oil policy, but we remain cautious. After all, the Kingdom has... 14th December 2016 · 1 min read
