Navigating the Next GCC Business Landscape

Service news and financial news, analysis, opinion and data covering the 6 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 region forecasted to outperform its 2025 efficiency regardless of soft oil profits and continuous international uncertainties. According to a new Oxford Economics research study rundown, GCC GDP development is anticipated to increase to 4.4 percent in 2026, up from 4 per cent in 2025, showing a resilient nonenergy sector, strong customer characteristics, and slowly improving oil output.

The newest forecasts suggest that Gulf economies are now wellpositioned to restore momentum, buoyed by enhancing domestic need and a broadly constant international backdrop. The report highlights GCC customers as a major chauffeur of the area's financial performance heading into next year. Low inflation, robust labour markets, and growing genuine disposable incomes are expected to sustain a surge in customer costs throughout the Gulf.

Credit growth is also forecast to stay elevated as access to financial services broadens. With GCC main banks expected to follow expected United States Federal Reserve rate cuts due to the area's dollar pegs, borrowing costs are most likely to decrease, giving households and businesses even more motivation to spend and invest. While the nonoil sector continues to anchor the area's durability, the GCC's hydrocarbon outlook presents a combined image.

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This might weigh on firsthalf growth, particularly for economies more based on oil extraction. Nevertheless, Oxford Economics predicts a rebound later in 2026, with Opec+ members anticipated to resume raising production as inventories tighten and worldwide need enhances. Qatar, meanwhile, sticks out as a local outperformer, with considerable growths in gas production and exports anticipated to raise its total economic performance.

Saudi Arabia's 2026 spending plan prepares for a 6 per cent cut in capital expenditure as the kingdom intends to narrow its fiscal deficit by two portion points. The report notes that these cuts might not materialise fully if countercyclical costs procedures are activated to support development. By contrast, more varied economies such as the UAE and Qatar are anticipated to continue advancing their advancement programs.

Despite shortterm risks connected to oil rates and worldwide demand, the GCC's 2026 financial outlook is specified by strength in fundamentals: resilient customers, robust nonenergy sectors, improving oil dynamics, and strategic financial preparation. With these factors aligning, the area is preparing for among its most balanced durations of growth in the last few years anchored by a clear upward trajectory in GDP growth.

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RIYADH: Gulf Cooperation Council regional economies are expected to stay durable in 2026, driven by strong domestic demand and a broadly constant worldwide economy, according to an analysis. In its most current report, Oxford Economics highlighted that the real gross domestic item of the GCC area is anticipated to broaden by 4.4 percent in 2026, up from the forecasted 4 percent this year.

We expect GCC development will rise to 4.4 percent in 2026, from 4 percent this year."In November, the GCC Statistical Center said that economic growth in the area is set to speed up 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 total GDP, up from 70.6 percent at the end of 2024, highlighting the region's continued development towards diversification. According to Oxford Economics, GCC consumers will be standout performers in 2026 and are expected to outperform their international peers.

In December, the IMF further stated that headline inflation is expected to stay listed below 2 percent in Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar, near 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 anticipated to remain elevated in the GCC region during 2026, as access to financial services is expected to grow and lending is predicted to be supported by additional cuts in interest rates."Owing to their currency pegs to the United States dollar, GCC central banks are expected to follow the US Federal Reserve by relieving financial policy further, which in turn will reduce debt maintenance expenses and improve non reusable income and need," said the report.