Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly CBE policy moves, OPEC+ meeting, Tunisia default risks The Central Bank of Egypt appears to be pressing ahead with its shift toward a more flexible exchange rate regime, which should also increase the likelihood of Egypt securing an IMF deal. Elsewhere... 1st September 2022 · 8 mins read
Energy Update A revived Iran nuclear deal would tie OPEC’s hands A revived Iran nuclear deal would quickly bring an additional 1mn bpd of crude oil production online, which would directly weigh on global oil prices. But the bigger impact would be to make it less... 31st August 2022 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Inflationary pressures building Headline inflation has risen further across the region in recent months. This has been most pronounced in the non-Gulf economies which have been particularly exposed to spillovers from the war in... 30th August 2022 · 10 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Egypt’s hurdles to an IMF deal, Saudi threatens oil cut Egypt appears to be edging closer toward reaching a new IMF deal with officials having made positive steps in recent months to address the exchange rate, fiscal policy, and structural reforms, all of... 25th August 2022 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt: the costs and benefits of a weaker pound We think that the Egyptian pound needs to fall a lot further which, in the near-term, will push up inflation and harm the sovereign debt position. But it will be key to boosting Egypt’s external... 25th August 2022 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response Egypt Interest Rate Decision (Aug.) 18th August 2022 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly All eyes on the Central Bank of Egypt The resignation of Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Tarek Amer yesterday has further increased scrutiny of the country’s exchange rate policy. A weaker pound is clearly needed, preferably under an... 18th August 2022 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update The economic impact of the Qatar FIFA World Cup The 2022 Football World Cup that kicks off in November will provide a significant boost to Qatar’s economy in Q4, but we doubt that the economic legacy of the tournament will live up to officials’... 15th August 2022 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Jul.) Saudi inflation picked up to 2.7% y/y in July due to strengthening underlying price pressures, but we think that it is now at or close to a peak and will gradually fall back over the rest of this year... 15th August 2022 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Egypt: PIF steps up investment; CBE rate hike on the cards Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has stepped up investments into Egypt this week that will help to ease external financing concerns. At the same time, electricity rationing will begin next week... 11th August 2022 · 6 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Emerging Markets Capital Flows Monitor Capital outflows from EMs have eased over the past month, helping to stabilise local asset prices. But we think outflows will pick up again before long. That’s a threat to those EMs whose current... 10th August 2022 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Egypt Consumer Prices (Jul.) Egypt’s headline inflation rate picked up to a three-year high of 13.6% y/y in July and we think it will remain above the Central Bank of Egypt’s target range until early 2024. Greater flexibility of... 10th August 2022 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Qatar’s LNG boost still a few years away With Russia tightening its squeeze on supply of gas to Europe, governments are turning their attention to other major gas exporters such as Qatar to try to fill the gap. But Qatar’s gas sector is... 9th August 2022 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Egypt’s prolonged IMF talks, OPEC+ fallout Egypt’s Finance Minister Mohamed Maait argued this week that any financing agreement with the IMF would be much smaller than the $15bn suggested by some analysts but, if anything, the drawn out nature... 4th August 2022 · 7 mins read
Frontier Markets Wrap Five questions and answers on frontier default risks The spreads of sovereign dollar bonds over US Treasuries are in distressed territory in almost a third of EMs covered in the JP Morgan EMBI Index, with the majority of those being frontier markets. In... 3rd August 2022 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response PMIs (Jul.) July’s batch of PMIs were a mixed bag, but the readings reinforce our view that activity in non-oil sectors in the Gulf remains strong. Meanwhile, there were further signs that price pressures are... 3rd August 2022 · 2 mins read
