Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi reshuffle unlikely to result in drastic change The government reshuffle in Saudi Arabia announced over the weekend is unlikely to herald a major shift in economic policy, although it may strengthen the Kingdom’s commitment to its oil market... 9th May 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Further signs that the Saudi economy is struggling Our GDP Tracker suggests that Saudi Arabia’s economy continued to slow sharply at the start of this year, with the non-oil sector suffering under the weight of fiscal austerity. The risks to our long... 5th May 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Mar.) Inflation in Saudi Arabia remained elevated at 4.3% y/y in March due to the electricity and water tariff hikes earlier in the year and, more recently, last month’s hike in tobacco import duties. These... 25th April 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi economy feeling the strains of austerity Our GDP Tracker suggests that Saudi Arabia’s economy slowed sharply at the start of this year as the impact of fiscal austerity weighed heavily on the non-oil sector. Meanwhile, today’s decision by... 12th April 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia GDP (Q4) Data released today confirmed that Saudi GDP growth held steady at 3.6% y/y in the final quarter of last year but we think the economy will slow sharply this year and even further in 2017. 4th April 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi Prince’s comments don’t indicate major change Comments today by Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in an interview with Bloomberg confirm our view that Saudi policymakers are comfortable with a period of low oil prices. What’s... 1st April 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Feb.) Saudi inflation eased in February to 4.2% y/y, although it remained high due to the impact of recent administered price rises. But with economic growth slowing, we think underlying price pressures... 21st March 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Oil prices jump on Saudi comments and US blizzard After another poor start, the prices of industrial commodities ended the week on the up. The main positives were hints of additional monetary policy support from the ECB and the absence of any more... 22nd January 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi growth steady in Q4, but set to slow sharply this year Our GDP Tracker suggests that growth in Saudi Arabia’s economy was broadly stable between October and November but, with a fiscal squeeze underway, growth looks set to weaken this year. We remain... 19th January 2016 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC production dips in December OPEC production slipped in December, led by Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, but the group’s output is still near record highs. Even though demand is set to grow by over 1m bpd this year and non-OPEC supply... 18th January 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi privatisations point to gradual adjustment to cheap oil A privatisation drive in Saudi Arabia looks increasingly likely and we estimate that the government might be able to raise between $75bn and $100bn (12-15% of GDP) from asset sales. This wouldn’t be... 14th January 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Dec.) Inflation in Saudi Arabia was unchanged at 2.3% y/y in December, but the recent wave of subsidy cuts means that it is likely to edge higher over the coming months. 14th January 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Mohammed bin Salman fleshes out Saudi Arabia’s economic plans In an interview with The Economist published earlier today, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (or MbS, as he is known locally) outlined encouragingly ambitious fiscal and reform... 7th January 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi Arabia chooses fiscal squeeze rather than devaluation The fresh drop in oil prices has once again prompted speculation that Saudi Arabia will follow other major oil producers and devalue its currency. But we think this will only be used as a last resort... 7th January 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia & UAE Whole Economy PMIs (Dec.) The drop in ‘whole economy’ PMIs from the Gulf countries in December, in the case of Saudi Arabia to a fresh record low, provides further evidence that non-oil sectors are starting to feel the pinch... 7th January 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia GDP (Q3) The slowdown in Saudi GDP growth in the third quarter of last year, to 3.6% y/y, is a sign of things to come. With the recent budget confirming that a period of fiscal consolidation is now underway... 5th January 2016 · 1 min read
