Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Apr. 2024)

Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate was unchanged at 1.6% y/y in April and, while we think that there may be a slight acceleration at the start of Q3, the bigger picture is that inflation in the...

15th May 2024 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Egypt Consumer Prices (Apr. 2024)

Egypt’s headline inflation rate slowed from 33.3% y/y in March to 32.5% y/y in April and we think that inflation will continue to ease over the rest of this year and into 2025. That said, while...

9th May 2024 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Saudi Arabia GDP (Q1 2024, Flash Estimate)

Saudi Arabia’s flash estimate of GDP showed that the economy exited recession in Q1 and we expect the recovery to continue over the course of the year – and be a bit stronger than most currently...

1st May 2024 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Mar. 2024)

Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate slowed to 1.6% y/y in March on the back of weaker food and non-food inflation. While there’s likely to be a slight bump up in inflation in the second half of...

15th April 2024 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Egypt Consumer Prices (Mar. ‘24)

Egypt’s headline inflation rate slowed from 35.7% y/y in February to 33.3% y/y in March despite the near 40% fall in the pound’s official exchange rate last month. That said, the effects of the...

8th April 2024 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Middle East & North Africa PMIs (March 2024)

March's batch of PMIs showed that the Gulf economies continued to outperform those elsewhere, and have enjoyed a strong start to 2024.

3rd April 2024 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Feb.)

The increase in Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate to 1.8% y/y in February is the highest reading since August and it could creep to above 2.0% y/y in the coming quarters. The bigger picture...

14th March 2024 · 1 min read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Egypt Interest Rate Hike & Devaluation

The announcement minutes ago from the Central Bank of Egypt that it has devalued the pound and hiked interest rates by a bumper 600bp, to 27.25%, shows that policymakers are committed to the turn back...

6th March 2024 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

PMIs (Feb. 2024)

February’s batch of PMIs from the Middle East and North Africa continued to show that the Gulf’s private non-oil sectors have started 2024 on a strong footing. But Egypt’s economy appears to be...

5th March 2024 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Jan. 24)

Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate edged up from a two-year low of 1.5% y/y in December to 1.6% y/y in January, but we expect that inflation will ease again in the coming months and remain low...

15th February 2024 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Egypt Consumer Prices (Jan. 2024)

Egypt’s headline inflation rate slowed for a fourth consecutive month, easing from 33.6% y/y in December to 29.9% y/y in January. We think inflation will continue to slow this year, but a looming...

8th February 2024 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Saudi Arabia Flash GDP (Q4 2023)

The flash estimate of Saudi Arabia’s GDP for Q4 of last year showed that the economy expanded by 0.4% q/q, the first positive outturn since the period a year before. We expect the recovery to continue...

31st January 2024 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Dec. 23)

Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate slowed from 1.7% y/y in November to 1.5% y/y in December, the weakest pace recorded since January 2022. And we expect inflation to continue to ease at the start...

15th January 2024 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Egypt Consumer Prices (Dec. 2023)

Egypt’s headline inflation rate eased for a third consecutive from 34.6% y/y in November to 33.6% y/y in December. Comments last night suggest that an enhanced IMF deal is near, which is likely to...

10th January 2024 · 2 mins read

Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response

Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Nov. 23)

Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate rose a touch, from 1.6% y/y in October to 1.7% y/y in November, which is still low by the standards of the past two years. And we think disinflation will resume...

14th December 2023 · 2 mins read