GULF WEEKLY: OPEC cuts oil demand forecast, Saudi non-oil GDP rises, Oman’s OQ to IPO upstream subsidiary, Bahrain sells pipeline stake
A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines:
* OPEC and IEA cut oil demand forecasts, and Brent briefly fell below $70 for the first time since 2021.
* The GCC held dialogues with China and India and began free trade talks with Indonesia.
* Saudi non-oil Q2 GDP grew at the strongest rate in over a year and was ahead of the flash reading.
* The strongest growth was in finance & business services (7.1%) and trade & hospitality (6.8%).
* An Indian manufacturer of electric bikes, Wardwizard, is considering a factory in Saudi Arabia.
* Aramco announced partnerships with US AI firms Cerebras and Groq on the sidelines of an AI summit.
* UAE non-oil GDP grew by 4.0% in Q1, the weakest in three years, led by finance and transport.
* UAE inflation data was released for H1, when it averaged 2.1%, including 2.4% in June.
* A UAE-India Business forum was held in Mumbai, and Adnoc signed an LNG contract with Indian Oil.
* QatarEnergy added another 6 LNG vessels to its cast order book.
* Kuwait’s oil minister resigned, without explanation, and the finance minister will serve in an acting capacity.
* Capital Intelligence raised Oman’s outlook to Positive. There was a small fiscal surplus in July.
* OQ is IPOing its exploration and production arm, which could raise about $2bn for a 25% stake.
* Bahrain saw a small decline in expat numbers in the year to June, for the first time since Covid.
* Bapco is selling a stake in the Saudi Bahrain Pipeline to a Blackrock-managed fund.
* The Muslim Brotherhood surged in Jordan’s election, and a Jordanian shot Israeli border guards.
* Databank updates: Saudi and UAE GDP, Oman fiscal, UAE inflation, monthly oil data.
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