Saudi Arabia has dominated the sports headlines this week with big-money moves for global football stars a sign that the Kingdom is recycling large current account surplus. But the move does raise concerns over potential contingent liabilities for the state and that Aramco is being forced to expand beyond its energy remit. Meanwhile, Saudi also surprised by aggressively cutting oil output at last weekend’s OPEC+ meeting and we are now the only analysts to expect the economy to contract in 2023. Elsewhere, Kuwait’s parliamentary elections are unlikely to provide the fresh impetus to economic reforms that some are hoping for.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services