Economy

The pro-reform dominated parliament will be replaced by new conservative MPs in late May. BMI View: In their final weeks in office, reformists pushed through a number of bills aimed... 2004-05-12

Preliminary data from the Ministry of Planning indicate that the trade balance was narrower than we anticipated in 2003. While our estimate for exports is virtually identical to the... 2004-05-10

Key multinational Shell has revealed its 2000 assessment overstated proven reserves by 40%. BMI View: Reduced reserves estimates reflect a growing concern that the technique of horizontal... 2004-05-10

BMI View: This year's high oil prices will drive high regional growth, feeding through into strong expansion in services and construction, as well as directly benefiting exports (typically... 2004-05-10

With crude oil the determining factor in the trade and current accounts, the UAE is on course for another thumping balance of payments surplus in 2004. Oil market trends remain favourable... 2004-05-07

The upwards revision of our oil price forecasts in 2003 and 2004 has led us to amend our projections for the current account and total GDP in 2004 and 2005. However, as yet, we retain... 2004-04-20

With oil prices set to remain firm for the rest of this year, prospects for growth in 1383 (March 2004- March 2005) are good, and there may be some upside risk to our forecast of... 2004-04-20

In 2003, the Kingdom posted a budget surplus, equivalent to about 5.7% of GDP, due almost entirely to the surge in oil receipts. We have upwardly revised our oil price forecast for... 2004-04-20

The upwards revision of our oil price forecasts in 2004 and 2005 - from US$26.5/b and US$24.0/b to US$27.0/b and US$25.0/b respectively - has been fed through to our trade and growth... 2004-04-20

The upward revision of our oil price forecasts has fed through into higher projections for exports, growth and government revenue. As oil typically accounts for two-thirds of export... 2004-04-20