Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Will the Gulf’s dollar pegs survive the fall in oil prices? The collapse in oil prices over the past week has put pressure on the Gulf’s dollar pegs, but we think that a wave of devaluations is extremely unlikely. Large foreign exchange savings provide... 16th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Dubai the most vulnerable to coronavirus outbreak Efforts to contain the coronavirus will weigh heavily on non-oil sectors across the MENA region over the coming weeks and months. Dubai is the most vulnerable and this could ultimately ignite fears... 16th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Oil price collapse, coronavirus response The large oil producers in the MENA region have doubled-down on their pledges to raise output, but the accompanying collapse in oil prices has resulted in growing concerns about fiscal positions in... 12th March 2020 · 5 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Where are EM external vulnerabilities largest? If the recent tightening of external financing conditions is sustained, it would result in severe balance of payments strains for the usual suspects (Turkey and Argentina) as well as some of the... 11th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi’s oil policy shift and what it means for the Gulf The sharp fall in oil prices today will push current account and budget positions into deficit across the Gulf, but these can be financed from large savings for some time. Dollar pegs should stay... 9th March 2020 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Lebanon: how might a debt restructuring play out? Lebanon’s government is set to decide tomorrow on whether to repay a $1.2bn Eurobond maturing on Monday. Whatever the decision, a debt restructuring inevitably lies in store and the government will... 6th March 2020 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Coronavirus policy response, Lebanon’s debt decision The coronavirus outbreak in MENA has intensified and governments are stepping up policy support to deal with the economic fallout. And OPEC+ looks set to deepen oil output cuts. Elsewhere, Lebanon’s... 5th March 2020 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on MENA The spread of the coronavirus has prompted us to lower our 2020 GDP growth forecasts for the MENA region by 0.5-2.0% and the risks remain skewed to the downside. The UAE is the most vulnerable economy... 3rd March 2020 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Whole Economy PMIs (Feb.) February’s whole economy PMIs suggests that activity in non-oil sectors in the Gulf has weakened amid the coronavirus outbreak. Efforts to contain the virus have escalated since the survey took place... 3rd March 2020 · 2 mins read
Emerging Markets Activity Monitor Coronavirus: five points on the hit to EM activity so far This Activity Monitor outlines five key points on the coronavirus fallout for EMs, including what we can say about the impact so far. At the very least, it looks like the virus will cause aggregate EM... 28th February 2020 · 3 mins read
Frontier Markets Wrap Frontiers among most exposed to coronavirus fallout The economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak is likely to be particularly severe for a number of frontier markets. Due to its deep integration into global supply chains, Vietnam’s economy will... 27th February 2020 · 8 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi downturn has passed its trough Our GDP Tracker suggests that the downturn in Saudi Arabia’s economy deepened in Q4 of last year and, while the worst has probably now passed, the downside risks to the outlook are mounting. 27th February 2020 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Dubai concerns start to mount The past month has brought more bad news on Dubai’s economy. Markit’s Dubai PMI hit a four-year low in January and efforts to contain the coronavirus pose a threat to the Emirate’s transport and... 25th February 2020 · 15 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update How much will recent currency falls raise inflation? We estimate that the coronavirus-related sell-off in EM currencies will push up inflation over the next year by 0.6-0.7%-pts in Russia, Turkey and South Africa, reinforcing our view that easing cycles... 25th February 2020 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Trade Monitor Coronavirus starting to hit EM trade There are early signs that the economic disruption resulting from China’s measures to contain the coronavirus is hitting supply chains and trade in Emerging Asia. There is also some tentative evidence... 21st February 2020 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Lebanon default fears, Tunisia finally has a government It is looking increasingly likely that Lebanon’s government will default on a Eurobond payment in March. And while the government is now turning to the IMF to work through its crisis, time is running... 20th February 2020 · 5 mins read
