Middle East & North Africa Data Response Whole Economy PMIs (Aug.) The dip in Egypt’s PMI last month suggests that, while financial markets have welcomed the announcement of an IMF deal, business sentiment doesn’t appear to have received a boost. Meanwhile, PMIs from... 5th September 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Jul.) Saudi inflation edged down in July to its lowest rate this year, at 3.8% y/y, and further ahead the weakness of economic activity means that headline inflation will fall further over the next twelve... 22nd August 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Egypt Consumer Prices (Jul.) July’s high inflation reading in Egypt, of 14.0% y/y (the same as in June) confirmed that March’s devaluation of the pound is continuing to pass through into higher consumer prices. Against this... 10th August 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Whole Economy PMIs (Jul. 2016) The sharp improvement in last month’s ‘whole economy’ PMIs in the Gulf suggest that the slowdown seen in the first half of the year may now have bottomed out. 3rd August 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia GDP (Q1) Data released over the weekend, showing that Saudi GDP growth slowed in Q1 (particularly in the non-oil private sector), highlights the impact that fiscal austerity is already having on the economy... 4th July 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (May) Saudi inflation edged down for a second consecutive month in May, although it remained elevated due to the energy and water tariff hikes earlier in the year. Further ahead, with economic growth... 20th June 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Egypt Consumer Prices (May) Egyptian inflation jumped to 12.3% y/y in May as the impact of March’s devaluation of the pound continued to feed through into price pressures, while a decision by the government to hike medicine... 9th June 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Whole Economy PMIs (May) PMIs from the Gulf picked up in May, but we suspect that this can be largely explained by a boost to sentiment on the back of the further recovery in oil prices. Meanwhile, the data provided further... 6th June 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Apr.) Inflation in Saudi Arabia edged down last month, but it still remained elevated due to the energy and water tariff hikes earlier in the year, as well as the recent hike in tobacco import duties. These... 25th May 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Egypt Consumer Prices (Apr.) Egyptian inflation jumped to 10.3% y/y in April as the impact of March’s devaluation of the pound started to feed through into the wider economy. We expect inflation to rise further over the coming... 10th May 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Whole Economy PMIs (Apr.) April’s PMI data suggest that Egypt’s economy has continued to struggle and provided the first sign that inflation pressures are building following March’s devaluation of the pound. Meanwhile, the... 3rd May 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Mar.) Inflation in Saudi Arabia remained elevated at 4.3% y/y in March due to the electricity and water tariff hikes earlier in the year and, more recently, last month’s hike in tobacco import duties. These... 25th April 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Egypt Consumer Prices (Mar.) Egyptian inflation edged down to 9.0% y/y in March, but we think the inflation figures are yet to fully capture the impact of the devaluation of the pound in the same month. Indeed, we expect... 11th April 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Whole Economy PMIs (Mar.) The sharp fall in March’s ‘whole economy’ PMI for Egypt is the first sign that the recent devaluation of the pound will, in the near-term, weigh on the economy. Meanwhile, we suspect that the modest... 5th April 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia GDP (Q4) Data released today confirmed that Saudi GDP growth held steady at 3.6% y/y in the final quarter of last year but we think the economy will slow sharply this year and even further in 2017. 4th April 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Feb.) Saudi inflation eased in February to 4.2% y/y, although it remained high due to the impact of recent administered price rises. But with economic growth slowing, we think underlying price pressures... 21st March 2016 · 1 min read
