16 October 2016
Saudi Arabia went up by 1.11% as it finally reacted to oil staying above $50

Oil prices ended last week in the USD51.5 - USD52 range resulting in MENA markets maintaining a cautious approach with the exception of Egypt and Saudi. UAE markets were mainly down with Dubai and Abu Dhabi showing weakness of -0.59% and -0.97% respectively coupled with subdued volumes. Saudi Arabia went up by 1.11% as it finally reacted to oil staying above $50 but investors are still being cautious about the country’s economic situation with fears of further austerity measures and doubts about OPEC’s next meeting reaching an agreement.

Egypt went up by 1.6% over the week driven mainly by the news about the Egyptian pound devaluation expectations, coupled with the news that the central bank received a USD 2 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia with both actions seen as important steps towards getting the long waited IMF loan.

The first two weeks of October have cancelled each other out meaning we still have no discernible direction to the month. As we head into the week, eyes will stay on how oil trades around $50 and 3rd quarter earnings announcements will be analysed for economic trends. Optimistic signs indicate if Saudi and Egypt continue their positive trend for the month, the other markets may start to follow.

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