Why the Gulf Economy Held When the Region Didn't
A war that closed the Strait of Hormuz and hit every GCC state should have broken the region's economics. Reserves and diversification kept it standing.
Jul 16, 2026

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10 stories for“GCC economy”
A war that closed the Strait of Hormuz and hit every GCC state should have broken the region's economics. Reserves and diversification kept it standing.
Jul 16, 2026

The UAE enters the next period with diversified trade, services and investment buffers. Energy and shipping volatility still make credit quality and project selection important.
Aug 2, 2026

Saudi Arabia's May trade surplus rose sharply as oil exports increased and imports fell, while weaker non-oil exports show where the next test lies.
Jul 29, 2026

Early in the conflict the projections ran to 150 dollar oil and contracting Gulf economies. Halfway through August the numbers are less dramatic and more interesting than either the panic or the relief.
Aug 16, 2026

Non-oil activity reached 79.4 percent of national output in the first quarter, growing at 4.8 percent while the overall economy grew 3. The gap between those figures is the story.
Aug 6, 2026

One widely cited figure puts the category at 86 billion dollars. Another puts it at 254 billion. The gap is not a rounding error, it is a disagreement about what modest fashion actually is.
Aug 16, 2026

Dubai and Riyadh are hosting barista championships and single-origin tastings as third-wave coffee culture reshapes a region long defined by cardamom-spiced brews.
May 5, 2025

After two years of shocks, Gulf dining is rebuilding around homegrown brands and confident local concepts rather than imported franchise names.
May 19, 2026

Kuwait's telecom regulator is linking 5G-Advanced, AI, cloud services and local skills in a new digital transformation framework.
Jul 29, 2026

Occupancy was 36 per cent in March. It was 66 in August, nine tenths of last year's level, and arrivals have grown by double digits every month since spring. Nearly seven million people have come this year against almost twenty million last.
Sep 15, 2026
