Economy

Having risen to 26.4% y-o-y in June - the latest figures available from the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) - we expect consumer price inflation (CPI) to come down slightly in the medium... 2008-08-22

We are not overly confident in Baghdad's ability to attract significant foreign investment into the oil sector in the short-to-medium term.

BMI View: Kuwait's ample and expanding energy sector will protect it against low FDI and inflationary pressures. However, in the event of a dramatic drop in oil prices, negative perceptions... 2008-08-15

BMI View: Kuwait faces substantial structural challenges over the long-term, but the energy sector will continue to grow in real terms to 2018, keeping the government in surplus.... 2008-08-15

BMI View: The combination of a stronger dollar, lower oil prices and the government's inflation-targeting policies should reduce price pressures from 2009. However, we have revised... 2008-08-14

Real GDP will grow by an average 8.0% annually over the next five years, on the back of increasing oil output and strong growth in the non-oil sector.

Inflation will remain under control over the coming years due to an improved security situation, government subsidies and the growing credibility of the Central Bank of Iraq.

While current high oil prices will provide a boon to central government finances this year, we expect the budget to fall into deficit in 2009, and for deficits to widen over the forecast... 2008-08-05

In light of an upwards revision in our forecast for the average price for the OPEC Basket of US$121.50/bbl in 2008, the current account surplus will hit about US$133bn this year (or... 2008-07-25

Bahrain will continue to post substantial current account surpluses over the forecast period. We expect the 2008 surplus to come in at US$3.7bn.