GULF WEEKLY: Oil plummets, Trump-Iran tensions return, Bahrain cuts spending

GULF COUNTRIES - Report 24 Apr 2020 by Rory Fyfe and Justin Alexander

The weekly is a skimmable summary of key developments by country, overlaid with our analysis, the outlook and links to further information. Headlines include:

* The latest crash in oil prices, which saw Brent touch $16, weighed on Gulf markets.
* Trump and Iran exchanged threats about destroying each other’s ships, which we don’t think were serious.
* The growth rate of reported coronavirus infections slowed slightly GCC-wide to 86% w/w.
* Saudi expects to issue up to $58bn in debt this year.
* Oman’s cuts so far only amount to 3.8% of the budget. Spending was down -13% y/y in January.
* Omani oil production surged by 13% m/m in March after the breakdown of the previous OPEC+ deal.
* Bahrain’s cabinet proposed a -30% opex cut and the delay of some projects.
* There was little sign of COVID impact on Saudi and Omani consumer prices in March.
* There were sharp declines in expat workers in Oman in March.
* Qatar ordered new LNG carriers, in a signal of intention to continue its North Field expansion.
* In a rare bit of good news, Saudi extended its Yemen ceasefire by a month.
* Finally, Ramadan kareem to all those fasting amid lockdowns.

Now read on...

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