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Company news and financial news, analysis, opinion and statistics covering the six Gulf Corporation Council members Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Economic growth throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is set to speed up in 2026, with the area projected to exceed its 2025 efficiency in spite of muted oil incomes and ongoing worldwide unpredictabilities. According to a new Oxford Economics research briefing, GCC GDP development is expected to rise to 4.4 per cent in 2026, up from 4 percent in 2025, showing a durable nonenergy sector, strong consumer dynamics, and slowly enhancing oil output.
The latest forecasts suggest that Gulf economies are now wellpositioned to regain momentum, buoyed by reinforcing domestic need and a broadly stable global background. The report highlights GCC customers as a major motorist of the area's financial performance heading into next year. Low inflation, robust labour markets, and growing genuine non reusable earnings are anticipated to fuel a rise in customer costs throughout the Gulf.
Strategic Advice On Navigating Regional Market ComplexityCredit growth is also anticipated to remain elevated as access to monetary services expands. With GCC main banks expected to follow expected US Federal Reserve rate cuts due to the area's dollar pegs, obtaining expenses are most likely to decline, giving families and companies even more impetus to invest and invest. While the nonoil sector continues to anchor the region's resilience, the GCC's hydrocarbon outlook provides a combined image.
Strategic Advice On Navigating Regional Market ComplexityThis might weigh on firsthalf development, especially for economies more dependent on oil extraction. Nevertheless, Oxford Economics projects a rebound later in 2026, with Opec+ members anticipated to resume raising production as stocks tighten and international demand improves. Qatar, on the other hand, sticks out as a regional outperformer, with considerable growths in gas production and exports expected to lift its general economic performance.
Saudi Arabia's 2026 spending plan prepares for a 6 percent cut in capital expense as the kingdom aims to narrow its fiscal deficit by two percentage points. Nevertheless, the report keeps in mind that these cuts may not materialise fully if countercyclical spending measures are triggered to support growth. By contrast, more diversified economies such as the UAE and Qatar are expected to continue advancing their advancement programs.
In spite of shortterm risks tied to oil prices and worldwide demand, the GCC's 2026 financial outlook is specified by strength in principles: resistant customers, robust nonenergy sectors, enhancing oil dynamics, and strategic financial preparation. With these factors aligning, the region is getting ready for among its most well balanced periods of growth over the last few years anchored by a clear upward trajectory in GDP development.
RIYADH: Gulf Cooperation Council local economies are expected to stay resistant in 2026, driven by strong domestic need and a broadly constant international economy, according to an analysis. In its newest report, Oxford Economics highlighted that the real gdp of the GCC region is anticipated to expand by 4.4 percent in 2026, up from the predicted 4 percent this year.
US trade policy under President Donald Trump has had no significant influence on local growth, and non-energy sectors have sustained their robust momentum," stated Oxford Economics. It added: "On the other hand, oil production has gradually increased, providing an increase to the area's economies. We anticipate GCC development will increase to 4.4 percent in 2026, from 4 percent this year."In November, the GCC Statistical Center stated that economic development in the region is set to speed up to 4.3 percent by 2027, driven by expanding non-oil sectors.

Non-oil activities accounted for 73.2 percent of total GDP, up from 70.6 percent at the end of 2024, highlighting the region's ongoing development toward diversification. According to Oxford Economics, GCC customers will be standout entertainers in 2026 and are expected to outperform their international peers.
In December, the IMF further said that headline inflation is anticipated to stay below 2 percent in Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar, near to 2 percent in the Kingdom and the UAE, and a little above 2 percent in Kuwait in 20252026. According to Oxford Economics, credit development is expected to remain elevated in the GCC area throughout 2026, as access to financial services is expected to grow and lending is projected to be supported by more cuts in rate of interest."Owing to their currency pegs to the United States dollar, GCC reserve banks are expected to follow the United States Federal Reserve by easing monetary policy even more, which in turn will reduce financial obligation servicing costs and enhance disposable earnings and need," said the report.
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