Description

Low oil prices will continue to take a toll on the economic health of the gulf economies in the second quarter of 2017. Low energy prices leading to burgeoning fiscal deficit have adversely affected Qatar’s economic prospects. Output in the oil and gas sector remained flat and GDP growth appears to have contracted in Q1 2017. The multi-year $200 billion infrastructure spending for the upcoming the World Cup will support growth in the medium term. In Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates continued fiscal consolidation efforts and healthy growth of the non-oil sector should help recover the stagnating oil and gas sector due to the recent The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreement of oil production reduction. Similarly in Nigeria, GDP growth has consistently stayed negative and inflation climbed to double digits for the last five quarters due to weak commodity prices. The Nigerian government is making efforts to bring in foreign investment into the sectors such as transportation, telecom and banking to help the country recover.
Country Coverage – Emerging Middle East and Africa
·     Saudi Arabia
·     The United Arab Emirates
·     Egypt
·     Algeria
·     Nigeria
·     Qatar
·     Israel

Year, Quarter and Month Coverage
·     Yearly Data: 2012 – 2020
·     Quarterly Data: Q1 2012 – Q4 2018
·     Monthly Data: January 2012 – June 2017