Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
In spite of lower oil prices, the Gulf economies are still holding up well, Jason Tuvey, Middle East Economist at British economic research and consulting company Capital Economics said in a report obtained by Trend.
"Whole economy PMIs (Purchasing Manager Index) from the MENA region provide further evidence that the plunge in oil prices hasn't caused activity in the Gulf economies to collapse, as some had feared," Tuvey said in the report.
Saudi Arabia's 'whole economy' PMI, which covers the entire non-oil private sector, rose from 58.5 in February to 60.1 in March, Tuvey mentioned.
"This was its highest reading in six months and left it firmly above the 50-mark which, in theory at least, separates expansion from contraction," he said.
Oil prices have dropped more than 50 percent from their mid-June high due to growing production and lackluster demand.
WTI for May delivery settled down $1.08, or 2.2 percent, at $47.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices fell 4.3 percent on the month and 11 percent in the quarter.
Brent, the global benchmark, slid $1.18, or 2.1 percent, to $55.11 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. Prices posted a 12 percent monthly loss and 3.9 percent quarterly loss.
Both benchmarks fell for the third straight quarter, the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the latest estimates of the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), OPEC members, excluding Iran, earned about $730 billion in net oil export revenues in 2014, which represents an 11-percent decline from the $824 billion earned in 2013.
Saudi Arabia earned the largest share of these earnings, $246 billion in 2014, representing approximately one-third of total OPEC oil revenues, according to the EIA's estimates.
OPEC members held a meeting in ministerial level November 27, 2014 to evaluate the global oil market and the falling trend of the oil price. Iran and Venezuela wanted to lower the Cartel's oil output and set a new ceiling level below the current 30 mbpd level.
Aygun Badalova is Trend Agency's staff journalist, follow her on Twitter:@AygunBadalova