GULF WEEKLY: Oil surges as talks stall, UAE quits OPEC+, Emirates NBD breaks bond drought
A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines:
* There were no US-Iran talks for a second week, and oil surged further as Hormuz remained blocked.
* Proposals are still being exchanged via Pakistan, with Iran proposing a mutual blockade lifting.
* Four Gulf leaders and the UAE foreign minister met in Jeddah for the war’s first high-level summit.
* The Lebanon ceasefire is unraveling, with Israel bombing dozens of targets.
* Central banks' data showed some war impact in March, notably sharp declines in foreign card transactions.
* Gulf sovereign wealth funds will take a 39% stake in Warner Bros in the Paramount takeover.
* Saudi Arabia’s GDP slowed in Q1, with a -11% q/q contraction in oil and non-oil easing to 2.8% y/y.
* Crude exports from Yanbu appear to have declined to about 3.2m b/d, well below the peak.
* PIF confirmed that it will no longer fund LIV Golf, after investing $5bn in the tour.
* The UAE dramatically exited OPEC/OPEC+. There were rumors that it was reviewing other memberships.
* Emirates NBD broke the drought in the public bond market with a $750m AT1 issuance.
* Inflation in March surged to 4.2% in Qatar, mainly driven by food.
* Kuwait’s GDP slowed to 2.4% in Q4 as oil surged, but manufacturing dragged down non-oil.
* Bahrain’s FX reserves remarkably increased in March, despite the war, hinting at support.
* Iraq’s Shia parties nominated businessman Ali al-Zaidi to be prime minister, and Trump endorsed.
* Databank updates: Saudi & Kuwait GDP, Qatar and Bahrain inflation, Qatar forecasts, Oman monthly.
Now read on...
Register to sample a report