Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Gulf growing at a healthy pace Growth in the Gulf economies has held up well over the first few months of this year. Admittedly, the weakness of the global economy is weighing on demand for the region’s hydrocarbon exports. But... 22nd May 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Egypt and the IMF: still no breakthrough Political deadlock in Egypt has placed another obstacle in the way of negotiations with the IMF. A team from the Fund left Cairo earlier this month without an agreement in place, apparently as a... 25th April 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Saudi economy not yet overheating A combination of rising government spending, rapid and accelerating credit growth, and a rise in headline inflation has led some commentators to warn that the Saudi economy is overheating. Looking... 14th March 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Gulf countries cutting back oil production The Gulf economies cut back oil production towards the end of last year against the backdrop of the weakening global economy. But while the hydrocarbon sector may be a drag on growth in 2013, it looks... 21st February 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack All eyes on how far Egyptian pound will fall Although Egypt’s constitutional crisis has eased, the currency is now presenting a fresh cause for concern. Our central view remains that Egypt will secure an IMF deal which, combined with a return of... 24th January 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Constitutional crisis keeps Egypt in the headlines Egypt’s constitutional crisis continues to cast a dark shadow over the economy. Admittedly, the vote on the new draft constitution passed off more smoothly than might have been expected. But the... 19th December 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Egypt: two steps forward, one step back It’s been a mixed month for Egypt’s post-revolution economy. The good news is that a $4.8bn programme with the IMF has been agreed at a staff level, paving the way for formal approval by the Fund’s... 26th November 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 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 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 Chart Pack Oil prices in freefall Fears for the health of the global economy have sent Brent crude prices down by more than $30 per barrel in the past month, raising fresh concerns over the sustainability of the recent fiscal packages... 22nd June 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Egypt’s elections add to vulnerabilities Early results from the first round of Egypt’s presidential election appear to have polarised society, pitting Islamists against secularists, and revolutionaries against the old guard. The outcome... 28th May 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack G7 to the rescue? The recent announcement by the G7’s Deauville Partnership that it will soon deliver on its earlier promise of a $20 billion ‘Arab Spring’ package to Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Jordan, could... 24th April 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Crunch time for Egypt Egypt’s talks this week with the IMF over a $3.2 billion package could prove to be a defining moment in the post-Mubarak era. With FX reserves now at dangerously low levels, external financing is... 20th March 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack High oil prices to swell Gulf coffers The jump in oil prices over the past month has sharpened the divide between the relatively bright outlook for the Middle East’s resource-rich countries, and the less rosy outlook for its resource-poor... 23rd February 2012 · 1 min read