Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi economy stronger in Q4, consensus too bearish on 2017 Our GDP Tracker suggests that the Saudi economy strengthened in the final quarter of 2016 as the drag from fiscal austerity eased. Headline GDP growth is likely to slow sharply in the first half of... 6th March 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi Arabia: should we be concerned about deflation? The recent dip in Saudi inflation into negative territory has raised concerns in some quarters that the country could be at risk of a long and damaging period of deflation. There are good reasons to... 2nd March 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Steady stream of Gulf dollar bond sales continues Oman and, for the first time, Kuwait are expected to sell dollar bonds in the coming weeks, continuing the raft of issuances from the Gulf countries over the past year. Kuwait’s strong balance sheet... 28th February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Tunisia’s economy set for a slow recovery in 2017-18 Tunisia’s economy picked up over the course of 2016 and, while growth is likely to strengthen a little further over the next couple of years, we expect it to remain sluggish at 2-3%. 23rd February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s central bank looks through inflation spike The decision by Egypt’s central bank to leave its policy interest rate on hold despite the rise in inflation to a 30-year high last month means that additional monetary tightening is no longer on the... 16th February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt: what to make of the pound’s recent rally? Weaker import demand and a pick-up in foreign investment have pushed the Egyptian pound up by 15% against the US dollar in the past couple of weeks, and we think the rally may have a little further to... 14th February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi: OPEC deal a short-term gain, but unlikely to be renewed The sharp rise in oil prices means that, despite implementing a larger-than-pledged oil output cut, Saudi Arabia has been a big beneficiary from the recent OPEC agreement. But with compliance likely... 13th February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Qatar’s credit boom comes to an end, lending growth to stay weak The recent sharp slowdown in private sector credit growth, coupled with falling real estate prices, has ignited concerns that Qatar’s credit boom of the past few years is quickly unravelling. For now... 9th February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Algeria’s economy to slump in 2017 Algeria’s economy held up better than expected last year as a rebound in the hydrocarbon sector offset weakness in the non-hydrocarbon sector. However, the adjustment to low oil prices is far from... 8th February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Iran now in Trump’s sights An early morning tweet from President Trump suggests that his attention may now shift to Iran and its infamous nuclear deal. In this Update, we explain what has happened, the chances of the deal being... 2nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Decline in Saudi interbank rates to reverse course soon The recent decline in Saudi interbank rates reflects fading fears that the riyal will be devalued and easing liquidity shortages in the banking system. We still expect Saudi interbank rates to rise... 30th January 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt: will the government’s fiscal reforms be enough? The big fiscal squeeze that the Egyptian government has signed up for as part of its IMF deal will, if fully implemented, bring the debt ratio down. However, the authorities are likely to struggle to... 26th January 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update MENA sovereigns line up dollar bond sales The recent pull-back in US Treasury yields has prompted several MENA sovereigns to push ahead with their plans to issue dollar debt. With the Fed likely to hike interest rates more aggressively in... 23rd January 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi economy picking up at end of 2016, but set to slow in 2017 Our GDP Tracker suggests that the Saudi economy was on an improving trends towards the end of last year. But we expect growth to be slower this year compared with 2016 as weakness in the oil sector... 19th January 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Key takeaways from the IMF’s Staff Report on Egypt The conditions attached to Egypt’s IMF loan, details of which were released earlier today, suggest that a significant fiscal squeeze is in the pipeline this year, while monetary policy will remain... 18th January 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi balance of payments position to continue to improve The latest data show that Saudi Arabia’s balance of payments position improved markedly towards the end of 2016 and, with oil prices likely to grind higher this year, this trend looks set to continue... 18th January 2017 · 1 min read