Bahrain

Our outlook for Bahrain has improved, largely as a result of higher oil price assumptions. We now expect the OPEC basket price to average US$61.5/bbl in 2006, which will contribute... 2006-06-27

There are mixed messages over whether Bahrain has genuinely dropped its boycott of Israel, which it agreed to do as a precondition for its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US.... 2006-06-27

Tensions between the kingdom's Sunni elite and its Shi'a majority are on the rise, based on longstanding grievances, and exacerbated by regional dynamics. Sectarian killings in Iraq... 2006-06-23

Our existing Bahrain forecasts are based on BMI's oil price forecasts as of Q106, which assumes an OPEC basket price of US$51.3/bbl in 2006. As our oil desk has now revised our 2006... 2006-05-18

The key challenge facing monetary policymakers in Bahrain is preparation for Gulf Co-operation Council Monetary Union (GCC-MU), currently scheduled to take effect in 2010. In our... 2006-05-11

Our Bahrain forecasts are based on BMI's oil price forecasts as of Q106, which assumes an OPEC basket price of US$51.3/bbl in 2006, marginally higher than in 2005 (in contrast to... 2006-04-19

We have revised our growth, exports, trade balance and current account forecasts up as a result of the recent revision to our oil price forecasts. Growth will remain robust at 6%... 2006-04-04

We have revised our growth, exports, trade balance and current account forecasts up as a result of the recent revision to our oil price forecasts. We now expect the OPEC basket price... 2006-02-14

Bahrain's free trade agreement with the US has finally been signed by President George W Bush, paving the way for the abolition of (already low) import taxes on US goods and the opening... 2006-02-08

We expect an expansion of 5.6% as 2005’s high oil prices feed through into higher domestic and regional demand. Firstly, higher-than-expected government revenues are likely to feed... 2006-01-17