Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Could Saudi live with a sustained fall in oil prices? Saudi Arabia’s government returned to running budget deficits last year and is likely to continue doing so. But these should be easily financed. Oil prices would probably have to fall sharply, to... 23rd January 2024 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Revisiting Dubai’s GRE debts We have long highlighted the risk in Dubai’s corporate sector and the large debts that government-related entities (GREs) have accrued. This Update provides our latest estimates of these debts. The... 16th January 2024 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Jordan’s economy stuck in malaise Economic growth in Jordan has been sluggish for the best part of a decade and the outlook doesn't look much brighter. While the renewed IMF programme will help to contain external strains, the Israel... 11th January 2024 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s economic struggles look set to persist In the past few years, Egypt’s economy has been hit by the successive impacts of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and, more recently, currency devaluations. With further currency falls on the cards... 3rd January 2024 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi: end of recession in sight, but sluggish growth persists Saudi Arabia looks set to record its worst economic performance this year, outside of the pandemic and the global financial crisis, in more than two decades on the back of lower oil output. The worst... 19th December 2023 · 4 mins read
Global Economics Update Key risks for 2024 In this Global Economics Update, we describe eight of the biggest risks to our economic forecasts for 2024. The unusual nature of this cycle and uncertainties surrounding the transmission of monetary... 30th November 2023 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt: currency, sovereign, banking risks intertwine The falls in the Egyptian pound over the past year have increased the size of commercial banks’ net FX assets, but what has flown under the radar is banks’ growing exposure to the government’s FX debt... 29th November 2023 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi Arabia: recession nearing an end The latest Saudi GDP data paint a downbeat picture in which the recession has deepened amid oil output cuts. But the good news is that the recession looks to be coming to an end. And we think the... 15th November 2023 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt: inflation on the way down, but upside risks remain Data over the weekend showed that Egypt’s inflation rate slowed, confirming that September marked the peak, and our baseline scenario is that it will continue to drop back as we head into 2024. The... 13th November 2023 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update How credible are the region’s currency pegs? Persistent balance of payments strains brought pressure on some of the region’s non-oil producing countries who employ fixed exchange rate regimes. FX reserves have been depleted to support currencies... 9th November 2023 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Moroccan auto industry set to make further strides Morocco’s automobile sector has gone from strength to strength in the past decade, with production now rivalling some producers in Central and Eastern Europe. With investment from major global... 31st October 2023 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Tunisia’s crisis nearing a crunch point Tunisia is stuck in a deep economic and political crisis, and with the IMF’s staff-level agreement yet to be approved, and it is only likely to get worse. We have long held the view that Tunisia is... 23rd October 2023 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Where do things stand in Egypt? It has been almost a year since Egypt reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF, but progress on key policies that form part of the program has stalled. The pound has been a de-facto peg since... 17th October 2023 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi set for weakest GDP growth in the Gulf this year Saudi Arabia’s economy is in a recession and, with oil output cuts extended until the end of this year at least, GDP will contract further. We think that the economy will shrink by 1.3% this year... 16th October 2023 · 4 mins read
Energy Update Middle East instability threatens regional LNG exports The conflict between Hamas and Israel will negatively affect Israel’s natural gas exports. However, the bigger concern for global natural gas prices is the risk of the conflict spreading. In view of... 12th October 2023 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update A fresh look at Egypt’s external position Despite a marked improvement in Egypt’s current account deficit, the pound’s de-facto peg is deterring critical capital inflows and adding to concerns over large external financing needs. A fresh... 10th October 2023 · 4 mins read
