Energy revenues boost the performance of Gulf stocks (AFP)
Most of the major stock markets in the Gulf closed higher, today, Sunday, with an outperformance Diagonal Index compared to its counterparts in the region, supported by high energy prices and strong corporate returns, while official data showed that Saudi Arabia achieved economic growth of about 12% in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2021, thanks to Point returns.
Crude oil prices, a major driver of financial markets in the Gulf, rose by more than two dollars a barrel to settle at 110.01 dollars a barrel, last Friday, before a meeting of the “OPEC +” group next August. Sources said that the meeting will discuss leaving production rates unchanged.
The Qatar Stock Exchange index rose 1.89%, to close at 13,370 points, while the Saudi index rose 0.4%, with the shares of Yansab Petrochemical Company rising 3.6%.
Outside the Gulf region, the leading stock index in the Egyptian Stock Exchange rose by 1%, with the share of Commercial International Bank rising 1.2%.
Today, Saudi Arabia announced that it achieved economic growth of about 12% in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2021, thanks to the revenues of the oil sector.
Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the Middle East, benefited from the high oil prices caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the world’s largest oil exporter has resisted Western requests to increase production of black gold in an effort to curb its prices.
In a report published on its website, the Saudi General Authority for Statistics stated that the GDP growth amounted to 11.8% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, according to “rapid estimates” it conducted.
She said, “This positive growth is due to the significant increase in oil activities by 23.1%. She added that non-oil activities rose by 5.4%, and government services activities increased by 2.2%, compared to the same period last year.
The war in Ukraine and the resulting rise in crude oil prices represented a positive factor for oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, whose gross domestic product is expected to grow by 7.6% in 2022, according to the International Monetary Fund.
After the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and the UAE confirmed their commitment to the “OPEC +” alliance, which includes OPEC member countries and major producers from outside, led by Russia, in confirmation of the increasing independence of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi from their ally Washington.
Oil was on the agenda of US President Joe Biden’s meeting with the leaders of the Kingdom, but the visit ended without an agreement to increase production, according to Agence France-Presse. A senior US official told reporters Thursday that Washington still believes in the possibility of increasing oil production. “We are optimistic about the possibility of positive announcements from the next OPEC meeting,” the official said.