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

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Economic growth across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is set to speed up in 2026, with the area projected to exceed its 2025 efficiency despite soft oil incomes and ongoing global uncertainties. According to a new Oxford Economics research study rundown, GCC GDP development is expected to rise to 4.4 percent in 2026, up from 4 per cent in 2025, reflecting a durable nonenergy sector, strong consumer characteristics, and slowly improving oil output.

The latest forecasts recommend that Gulf economies are now wellpositioned to restore momentum, buoyed by reinforcing domestic demand and a broadly constant international backdrop. The report highlights GCC consumers as a major motorist of the region's financial performance heading into next year. Low inflation, robust labour markets, and growing real non reusable earnings are anticipated to sustain a rise in customer costs throughout the Gulf.

Credit growth is likewise forecast to stay raised as access to financial services widens. With GCC central banks anticipated to follow anticipated United States Federal Reserve rate cuts due to the region's dollar pegs, obtaining costs are likely to decrease, giving households and companies further impetus to spend and invest. While the nonoil sector continues to anchor the region's resilience, the GCC's hydrocarbon outlook presents a blended photo.

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This might weigh on firsthalf growth, particularly for economies more depending on oil extraction. Oxford Economics projects a rebound later on in 2026, with Opec+ members expected to resume raising production as stocks tighten and international need enhances. Qatar, meanwhile, sticks out as a regional outperformer, with substantial expansions in gas production and exports anticipated to raise its overall economic performance.

Saudi Arabia's 2026 budget plan prepares for a 6 per cent cut in capital expenditure as the kingdom aims to narrow its fiscal deficit by two percentage points. However, the report notes that these cuts may not materialise fully if countercyclical spending measures are activated to support growth. By contrast, more diversified economies such as the UAE and Qatar are anticipated to continue advancing their development agendas.

Despite shortterm threats connected to oil rates and global need, the GCC's 2026 economic outlook is defined by strength in fundamentals: resilient consumers, robust nonenergy sectors, enhancing oil characteristics, and tactical financial planning. With these elements lining up, the region is preparing for among its most balanced durations of expansion in the last few years anchored by a clear upward trajectory in GDP development.

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RIYADH: Gulf Cooperation Council regional economies are expected to stay resistant in 2026, driven by strong domestic demand and a broadly stable international economy, according to an analysis. In its newest report, Oxford Economics highlighted that the real gdp of the GCC area is expected to broaden by 4.4 percent in 2026, up from the projected 4 percent this year.

United States trade policy under President Donald Trump has had no significant impact on regional growth, and non-energy sectors have actually sustained their robust momentum," stated Oxford Economics. It included: "On the other hand, oil production has slowly increased, supplying a boost to the region's economies. We expect GCC development will rise to 4.4 percent in 2026, from 4 percent this year."In November, the GCC Statistical Center stated that financial growth in the area is set to accelerate to 4.3 percent by 2027, driven by expanding non-oil sectors.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Non-oil activities accounted for 73.2 percent of overall GDP, up from 70.6 percent at the end of 2024, highlighting the region's continued development toward diversity. According to Oxford Economics, GCC consumers will be standout performers in 2026 and are expected to surpass their international peers.

In December, the IMF even more said that headline inflation is expected to stay below 2 percent in Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar, near 2 percent in the Kingdom and the UAE, and somewhat above 2 percent in Kuwait in 20252026. According to Oxford Economics, credit growth is anticipated to stay raised in the GCC area during 2026, as access to monetary services is anticipated to grow and financing is projected to be supported by more cuts in rates of interest."Owing to their currency pegs to the US dollar, GCC reserve banks are expected to follow the US Federal Reserve by relieving financial policy further, which in turn will lower debt maintenance expenses and enhance disposable income and need," stated the report.