OPEC Member Countries Economy – March 2013

Saudi Arabia is estimated to have expanded by 6.0% last year. The headline PMI posted 58.5 in February, up from 58.1 in January. Output and new order growth remained solid, and employment levels continued to rise. Meanwhile, purchasing activity increased at a sharp rate. Employment levels at non-oil producing private sector firms also rose further during February.

The UAE’s exports to Japan grew by almost 3% to Dh161.9 billion ($44.1 billion) in 2012 compared to Dh156.78 billion ($42.72 billion) in 2011, according to the head of the Abu Dhabi Economic Development Department. The low exchange rate of the dollar against the Japanese yen had contributed to the rise in trade exchange between both countries, which has been boosted further by the high level of public spending by the Japanese government to encourage businesses and investments in the country.

The most recent budget for this year assumes a real GDP growth rate of 7.1% — a slowdown from the official growth estimate of 8% in 2012 — and a benchmark oil price of $96/b, much higher than the conservative $77/b used in the 2012 budget.

Angola’s central bank, the Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA) has several goals, one of which is to reduce the level of dollarisation in the economy and thus improve the effectiveness of monetary policy. The passage of a law in 2012 requiring international oil firms to channel their payments through domestic banks will also help to boost liquidity, although the changes are being phased in over 12 months ending in October 2013.