Middle East & North Africa Economics Update What’s behind Tunisia’s large current account deficit? Tunisia’s large current account deficit is the result of struggles in the tourism sector as well as an overvalued exchange rate and overly loose fiscal policy. Implementing austerity looks to be an... 24th January 2019 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update A primer on Lebanon’s sovereign debt It seems more likely than not that the Lebanese authorities will have to follow through with debt restructuring to place the public finances on a more sustainable footing. With commercial banks... 16th January 2019 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Oman: dollar peg to stay intact but growth to be weak The fall in oil prices since late last year has cast the spotlight on to Oman’s weak balance sheet and caused the rial to come under pressure. The country’s neutral stance in regional politics means... 9th January 2019 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi budget: wishful thinking Saudi Arabia’s budget for 2019 outlined further fiscal loosening but the government seems to be relying on optimistic assumptions for oil prices to rise to almost $80pb. If prices stay low as we... 18th December 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Stronger growth in Saudi Arabia won’t last Our GDP Tracker suggests that Saudi Arabia’s economy accelerated in Q3 but last week’s OPEC deal to cut oil output means that a fresh slowdown is on the cards in early 2019. 11th December 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update OPEC deal means weaker growth in the Gulf in 2019 The deal reached by OPEC to reduce oil output means that the economic slowdown in the Gulf that we had expected from the middle of next year will now occur earlier and be more severe. Accordingly, we... 7th December 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Banks can’t prop up the Egyptian pound for much longer The Egyptian authorities appear to have leaned on state-owned banks to sell FX assets to offset pressure on the pound recently, but this can only be sustained for a few more months at most. The... 4th December 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Qatar leaving OPEC not a game changer Qatar’s decision to pull out of the oil cartel, OPEC, is unlikely to have a major impact on global energy markets but it further cements the country’s feud with Saudi Arabia and its allies. The... 3rd December 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Morocco a bright spot in the emerging world Morocco’s rapid integration into global manufacturing supply chains, particularly in the automobile sector, should spur rapid economic growth in the coming years. We expect Morocco to be one of the... 28th November 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi likely to push ahead with modest oil output cut The upcoming OPEC meeting is likely to result in Saudi Arabia agreeing to reduce its oil output. But we think that any cut will be at the more modest end of the spectrum as the authorities balance the... 27th November 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi: sanctions to have limited near-term impact The imposition of targeted sanctions by the US on Saudi Arabia in relation to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is unlikely to hit local financial markets hard when they reopen on Sunday. After... 16th November 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s central bank shrugs off rising inflation The decision by Egypt’s central bank to keep its policy interest rate on hold confirmed that the MPC is paying more attention to weak underlying price pressures than the recent spike in headline... 15th November 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update What to make of Saudi Arabia’s push for oil output cuts Saudi Arabia’s push for a fresh round of oil output cuts isn’t a done deal and a sustained unilateral cut is unlikely. Even so, it adds to the evidence of a more erratic approach to oil policy under... 12th November 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Still some slack left in Egypt’s economy Egypt’s economy has grown at a robust pace over the past couple of years, but we estimate that there is still an output gap equal to 2.0-2.5% of potential GDP. Accordingly, as demand strengthens, the... 7th November 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Will stronger growth in the Gulf boost the rest of MENA? We expect that growth will strengthen in the Gulf over the coming quarters, but any potential boost to the rest of the MENA region is likely to be modest. While remittance flows might pick up, trade... 7th November 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Rising oil output boosting growth in Saudi Arabia Our GDP Tracker suggests that the Saudi economy picked up in August on the back of rising oil output. And while the threat of the US imposing sanctions on the Kingdom has clouded the outlook, we still... 31st October 2018 · 1 min read
