GULF WEEKLY: OPEC+ kicks the can, Saudi provides liquidity for banks, Tahnoun visits Doha

GULF COUNTRIES - Report 01 Jul 2022 by Justin Alexander

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines:

* OPEC+ didn’t announce September allocations, and Macron worried about Saudi and UAE capacity.
* US-Iran nuclear talks in Doha apparently made no progress but should reconvene in a few weeks.
* Coronavirus infections have surged in June, particularly in UAE and Bahrain, but deaths remain low.
* The Saudi current account surplus widened to 15% of GDP in Q1 but FDI remained flat.
* SAMA injected $13bn in discounted liquidity to ease the elevated Saudi interbank rate.
* Dubai’s economy grew by 5.9% y/y in Q1, reaching -1.9% below the 2019 level.
* UAE fuel prices rose by 11%+ in July and are now double the rate of neighbors, driving inflation.
* Qatar’s non-resident deposits declined a further -6% in May but are still a high 24% of total deposits.
* The UAE’s Sheikh Tahnoun visited Qatar again, working towards more normal relations.
* A parliamentary committee in Kuwait approved the budget; the latest draft sees a surplus with oil at $80.
* Kuwait is beginning to suffer food shortages as a result of price controls in place for two years.
* Oman issued a $390m local currency sukuk and bought back $701m in bonds.
* Egypt’s president visited Oman and Bahrain, and India’s prime minister visited the UAE.
* The IMF expects Bahrain’s official reserves to recover to 7 months of import cover in 2023.
* Israel is headed for new elections in November and has a new prime minister in the interim.
* Databank updates: Dubai GDP, Saudi BoP, Dubai inflation, Bahrain Art.4, Kuwait budget.

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