Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Saudi Arabia and Egypt follow divergent paths The latest activity data suggest that the MENA region’s two largest economies, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have headed in opposite directions at the start of 2015. After recording strong growth last year... 27th May 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Equities in the Gulf rebound as Yemen fears ease While the crisis in Yemen has dragged on, stock markets in the Gulf have rebounded in the past month as fears that it could trigger a broader regional conflict have eased. 28th April 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Region’s politics take another twist The conflict in Yemen and an outline nuclear agreement between Iran and the West has thrust the region’s politics back into the spotlight. Although it looks like problems in Yemen are likely to drag... 23rd April 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Assessing the impact of a potential nuclear deal with Iran There are many details that still need to be ironed out, but earlier this month Iran and the West moved another step closer to securing an agreement over Tehran’s nuclear programme. As we explain in... 9th April 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Yemen crisis weighs on region’s equity markets The unfolding crisis in Yemen and the launch of air strikes by Saudi Arabia and its allies on the Houthi rebels has triggered a sell-off in equity markets across the MENA region over the past week or... 31st March 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Saudi Arabia refuses to budge Even though oil prices continue to languish at around $55pb, there is still no sign that Saudi Arabia will give in to pressure from other OPEC members to cut oil output. Oil Minister, Ali al-Naimi... 25th March 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update What did we take away from Egypt’s investor conference? Egypt’s recent Economic and Development Conference, which was seen as a milestone in the government’s strategy to raise much-needed investment, saw the announcement of further financial support from... 19th March 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Gulf public investment projects to take the hit from low oil prices The Gulf countries should be able to stomach low prices for the next few years at least, but further down the line some form of adjustment is likely to be needed and we think that fiscal policy will... 5th March 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Whole Economy PMIs (Feb.) The latest whole economy PMIs from the MENA region provide further evidence that the fall in oil prices hasn’t caused activity in the Gulf economies to collapse, as some had feared. Indeed, activity... 3rd March 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Inflation pressures easing across the MENA region The past month has brought further evidence that inflation is slowing across the MENA region. In Saudi Arabia, inflation now stands at its lowest rate in more than eight years, while price pressures... 26th February 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook Gulf set for weaker growth, North Africa to outperform The fall in oil prices has led to a sharp reversal of fortunes in the Middle East and North Africa. Fears of steep falls in output in the Gulf are overdone, but growth will weaken in the coming years... 12th February 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update How the fall in oil prices will benefit North Africa We’ve written extensively in recent months about the losses the Gulf economies face in light of the plunge in oil prices. But in this Watch we explain why the North African economies of Egypt, Morocco... 13th January 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update What does the fall in oil prices mean for Dubai’s debts? The recent plunge in Dubai’s stock market, coming alongside a drop in oil prices, has rekindled fears that the Emirate could face renewed problems with its large corporate debts. For our part, we... 17th December 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Gulf economies take plunge in oil prices in their stride The slump in oil prices has caused the Gulf’s equity markets to tumble, but the region’s governments still seem to be unfazed. Oman aside, no country has announced cuts in public spending. And Saudi... 11th December 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Banks in the Gulf well placed to weather low oil prices The slump in oil prices has caused concerns to emerge about the exposure of financial institutions to energy companies, but for banks in the Gulf this risk seems small. They are more vulnerable to a... 10th December 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Gulf set to resist pressure to cut oil output Comments ahead of today’s OPEC meeting, playing down calls for a cut in the cartel’s output target, suggest that the Gulf States aren’t too alarmed by the recent slide in oil prices. Indeed, Saudi... 27th November 2014 · 1 min read
