Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt hikes interest rates as inflation looks set to rise sharply The Egyptian central bank’s surprise decision to hike interest rates today appears to have been in anticipation of a sharp rise in inflation over the coming months. This follows the government’s... 17th July 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Tunisia: challenges remain but outlook is brightening Tunisia’s economy has faced a difficult few years since the country’s revolution in 2011. But assuming that upcoming elections pass smoothly, a return to some form of political stability should lay... 14th July 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Growth in Saudi Arabia eases as boost from oil sector fades Our GDP Tracker suggests that the Saudi economy weakened a touch in May as the boost from the oil sector earlier in the year started to fade while the non-oil sector remained sluggish by past... 10th July 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Qatar: region’s best performer, but risks rising The Qatari authorities have recently painted a pretty upbeat picture of the economy’s prospects. As we explain in this Watch, while the government is probably right in expecting to see relatively... 9th July 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s subsidy cuts a good first step but still more to be done The package of energy subsidy cuts unveiled by the Egyptian government over the weekend is a positive first step towards tackling the country’s gaping budget deficit. Further reforms will be needed to... 7th July 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi economy slows in Q1, likely to weaken further Q1 GDP data showed that the Saudi economy slowed a touch from Q4 on the back of weakness in the non-oil private sector. The latest PMI surveys suggest that growth in this sector stabilised in Q2... 3rd July 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt: growth picks up in Q1 as investment rebounds Q1 GDP data published earlier today showed that Egypt’s economy has continued its gradual recovery from last summer’s “second revolution”. And there were some encouraging signs that easing political... 30th June 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Dubai equities on the slide The Dubai equity market has fallen sharply over the past month amid concerns that the Emirate’s real estate sector is becoming another bubble. Elsewhere, spreads on Egypt’s dollar-denominated bonds... 24th June 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Bahrain: one of the Gulf’s laggards Bahrain’s economy grew at its fastest pace last year since 2008, but this was driven by a rebound in the oil sector which is unlikely to last. On top of this, political tensions remain high and fiscal... 18th June 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Growth alone won’t fix Egypt’s dire public finances There are growing hopes that the gradual recovery in the Egyptian economy will help to bring the dire public finances on to a more sustainable path. But while we think this will have some impact, in... 16th June 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update First thoughts on the impact of the crisis in Iraq The unfolding crisis in Iraq, including the capture of key cities by insurgents, will heighten fears that the country is sliding into civil war. While we suspect that the economic impact of the crisis... 12th June 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi economy appears to have weakened at the start of Q2 Our GDP Tracker suggests that the Saudi economy started the second quarter on a weaker note as growth in the oil sector slowed and activity in the non-oil economy remained sluggish by past standards. 9th June 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Why we’re relatively downbeat on the Saudi economy In its latest Article IV for Saudi, the IMF painted an upbeat picture of the economy. However, as we outline in this Watch, there are good reasons to think that growth may slow over the coming years. 5th June 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Morocco’s public finances on the mend Having embarked on subsidy cuts last year, the Moroccan authorities have made good progress on tackling the country’s weak public finances. There is still work to do if the government is to meet its... 4th June 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update PMIs highlight Egypt’s bumpy recovery May’s ‘whole economy’ PMI data show that, although the Egyptian economy is faring better than it was last summer, growth is sluggish. And looking ahead, in spite of the optimism following Abdel Fattah... 3rd June 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt rates on hold, al-Sisi election victory unlikely to mean cuts Although the Egyptian central bank left interest rates on hold today, there is growing speculation that, following Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s decisive victory in the recent presidential election, rate... 29th May 2014 · 1 min read
