Research Briefing | Aug 5, 2021

MENA | July PMIs, Oman’s electricity subsidies, Iran inflation

Copy of Copy of Copy of Ipad Frame (59)

The PMIs for Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar all remained in expansionary
territory in July at 55.8, 54.0 and 52.2 respectively. Both the UAE and Qatar’s
PMI rose on the back of stronger demand, but Saudi Arabia’s PMI fell for the
first time in four months.

What you will learn:

  • The Omani government is set to reconsider plans to remove electricity
    subsidies following complaints over the significant increase in May and June bills, with the authorities keen to avoid the clashes seen earlier this year due to worsening economic conditions and the current unemployment crisis.
  • Iran’s headline inflation slowed in July to 43.7% y/y from 47.7% in June but remains high despite a decline in food and housing and utility price inflation rates.
  • Saudi Arabia’s headline PMI declined for the first time in four months to 55.8 in July from 56.4 in June but remained well above the 50 no-change mark.
Back to Resource Hub

Related Services

Post

Nowcast shows wage growth slowing sharply

Our sentiment data, developed with Penta, suggests that UK private sector wage growth slowed sharply in March and early-April. If official data mirrors our sentiment indicator, it should keep the Monetary Policy Committee on track to cut interest rates in the summer.

Find Out More

Post

The euro and depreciation – shake, shake it off

Our new forecast assumes a slower euro appreciation against the dollar over the coming years than we previously anticipated. Relative productivity, terms of trade, and the current account will likely be less supportive of the euro than we thought. In addition, a stronger stock market than initially envisaged will attract more financial flows into the US than we had expected.

Find Out More