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IMF Anticipates Bahrain Economic Growth to Rise to 2.9%

FILE PHOTO: The International Monetary Fund logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, US September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The International Monetary Fund logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, US September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
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IMF Anticipates Bahrain Economic Growth to Rise to 2.9%

FILE PHOTO: The International Monetary Fund logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, US September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The International Monetary Fund logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, US September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission concluded a visit to Bahrain, saying that growth in the country is anticipated to rise to 2.9 percent in 2025.

The mission led by John Bluedorn visited Manama on November 9-20 to conduct discussions for the 2025 Article IV consultation.

The mission will submit a report to IMF management and Executive Board, which is scheduled to discuss the Article IV consultation in January.

“Despite tight financial conditions and elevated global and regional uncertainty, Bahrain’s real GDP grew at 2.6 percent in 2024, while CPI inflation picked up modestly to 0.9 percent,” said Bluedorn in a statement on Monday.

“However, the fiscal position continued to deteriorate in 2024, with the overall fiscal deficit to GDP rising to 11 percent and gross government debt to GDP increasing to over 133 percent,” he said.

“After rising to more than a quarter of GDP in 2024, the government’s overdraft at the CBB has since declined 8 percent over 2025, while foreign exchange reserves have increased 11 percent,” the statement added.

Nonhydrocarbon sector drives growth

“Growth is anticipated to rise to 2.9 percent in 2025 and to 3.3 percent in 2026, with the completion of refinery upgrades and robust services, particularly in tourism and the financial sector. Over the medium-term, real GDP is expected to grow at around 3 percent, driven by the nonhydrocarbon sector, which is projected to account for nearly 90 percent of the economy by 2030,” Bluedorn said.

“Reflecting recent deflationary pressures, consumer prices are projected to remain flat in 2025, before CPI inflation rises to steadily converge to 2 percent over the medium term. However, absent new fiscal measures, the elevated debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to rise further,” he added.

Introduction of taxes

“To bring debt down durably and reduce risks, the priority is to commit to a steady, multi-year fiscal consolidation package, with efforts appropriately staggered to smooth the adjustment, alongside structural reforms to boost growth. Among the key measures to improve the fiscal balance are the introduction of a general corporate income tax to raise nonhydrocarbon revenues and reducing broad energy subsidies while targeting social transfers to protect the most vulnerable households.”

According to the statement, this package would balance growth and equity considerations and fiscal sustainability. Adopting a clear and well-communicated anchor for fiscal policy would further solidify credibility and help to reduce economic risks.

Recommendations on financial stability

“The Central Bank of Bahrain should continue to closely follow the US Federal Reserve in changes to its policy stance, in line with its fixed exchange rate regime. Finalizing the ongoing upgrade of the bank resolution and crisis prevention framework would help to further safeguard financial stability, said the statement.

Developing additional tools for domestic market liquidity management—including open market operations—would foster the local currency bond market and promote greater financial market deepening. As innovations in fintech and crypto assets sectors grow, continued close monitoring of the bank and non-bank linkages is key to preserving financial stability.

“Structural reforms to boost labor productivity through human capital and digital infrastructure investments would contribute to growth and ease the necessary fiscal consolidation,” added Bluedorn.

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Business

Shell: Repair of Second Unit at Pearl Facility in Qatar to Take About a Year

A digital price sign is seen at a Shell gasoline station in San Francisco, California, USA, 18 March 2026. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO
A digital price sign is seen at a Shell gasoline station in San Francisco, California, USA, 18 March 2026. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO
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Shell: Repair of Second Unit at Pearl Facility in Qatar to Take About a Year

A digital price sign is seen at a Shell gasoline station in San Francisco, California, USA, 18 March 2026. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO
A digital price sign is seen at a Shell gasoline station in San Francisco, California, USA, 18 March 2026. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO

Shell said on Friday that full repair of its train two at the Pearl GTL (gas-to-liquids) facility in Qatar would ⁠take around a ⁠year, confirming a statement to Reuters from QatarEnergy, after Iranian ⁠attacks earlier this week.

Shell said train one at the facility was not damaged, and its QatarEnergy LNG N(4), which Shell has ⁠a ⁠30% interest in and which equates to 2.4 MTPA of equity production, was not impacted.

Shell has a 100% interest in Pearl GTL in Qatar, which has capacity to process up to 1.6 billion cubic ⁠feet ⁠per day of wellhead gas, converting it into 140,000 bpd of gas-to-liquids.

Business

US Stocks Sink on Fears the War with Iran will Keep Interest Rates High

A bobble head depicting US President Donald Trump sits on a desk as traders works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York City, on April 14, 2025. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)
A bobble head depicting US President Donald Trump sits on a desk as traders works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York City, on April 14, 2025. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)
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US Stocks Sink on Fears the War with Iran will Keep Interest Rates High

A bobble head depicting US President Donald Trump sits on a desk as traders works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York City, on April 14, 2025. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)
A bobble head depicting US President Donald Trump sits on a desk as traders works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York City, on April 14, 2025. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

US stocks are sinking Friday as hopes wither on Wall Street for a possible cut to interest rates by the Federal Reserve this year because of the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 fell 0.9% and was on track for a fourth straight losing week, its longest such streak in a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 285 points, or 0.6%, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% lower.

Stocks sank under the weight of leaping yields in the bond market. They will make mortgage rates and other borrowing more expensive for US households and companies, slowing the economy, and they grind down on prices for all kinds of investments. Treasury yields have been jumping since the war began because it could cause a long-term spike in oil and natural gas prices that drives up inflation, The AP news reported.

Worries have gotten so high that traders have canceled nearly all their bets that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates this year, according to data from CME Group. Some even see a possibility for a rate hike in 2026, which was a nearly unthinkable scenario before the war began.

Lower interest rates would give the economy and investment prices a boost, and they're something President Donald Trump has angrily been calling for. Before attacks by the United States and Israel began the war with Iran, traders were betting heavily that the Fed would cut interest rates at least twice this year.

But lower rates risk worsening inflation. And with oil prices so much higher now, investors see little room for central banks worldwide to cut interest rates to help their economies. Besides the Federal Reserve, central banks in Europe, Japan and the United Kingdom also held their interest rates steady this past week.

Friday's worries came even as oil prices calmed a bit. A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, added 0.3% to $109.02 after drifting lower earlier in the morning. Benchmark US crude rose 0.3% to $95.78 per barrel.

The price of Brent has zigzagged sharply on its way there from roughly $70 per barrel before the war began. Big swings up and down have struck hour to hour as financial markets try to handicap how long the war will last and how much damage it will do to oil and gas production in the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the focus is on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway off Iran’s coast. A fifth of the world’s oil typically sails through it, but Iran has effectively closed it to its enemies.

On Wall Street, Super Micro Computer dropped 28% and helped drag the US stock market lower. The US government accused a senior vice president of the company and two others affiliated with it of conspiring to smuggle billions of dollars of computer servers containing advanced Nvidia chips to China.

The company said it’s cooperated with the investigation and is not a defendant in the indictment. It placed its two accused employees on administrative leave and terminated its relationship with an accused contractor.

On the winning side of Wall Street was FedEx, which rose 2.2% after delivering a much stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 4.37% from 4.25% late Thursday and from just 3.97% before the war started. That's a significant move for the bond market.

The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Fed will do, jumped to 3.92% from 3.79% late Thursday and is near its highest level since the summer.

Outside of Wall Street, indexes fell in Europe following their wipeouts on Thursday. Indexes also sank in China, though South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3%.

Business

Spain to Spend 5 bn Euros to Ease Middle East War Fallout

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gives a press conference following an extraordinary cabinet meeting about the energy crisis, at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on Mar. 20, 2026 via AFP
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gives a press conference following an extraordinary cabinet meeting about the energy crisis, at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on Mar. 20, 2026 via AFP
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Spain to Spend 5 bn Euros to Ease Middle East War Fallout

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gives a press conference following an extraordinary cabinet meeting about the energy crisis, at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on Mar. 20, 2026 via AFP
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gives a press conference following an extraordinary cabinet meeting about the energy crisis, at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on Mar. 20, 2026 via AFP

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Friday a sweeping package worth five billion euros ($5.8 billion) aimed at cushioning the economic impact of the Middle East war, including a "drastic reduction" in energy-related taxes.

Speaking after an emergency cabinet meeting, the Socialist leader said the 80-measure package was necessary to shield households and key sectors from surging costs.

"Extraordinary situations require extraordinary responses," Sanchez said, calling it the "largest social and economic shield" being implemented in the European Union.

"Clearly, these measures will not prevent the effects of this illegal war from reaching Spain, but they will at least mitigate their impact and make them somewhat more bearable."

The package, set to take effect Saturday following publication in the official gazette, includes cuts to value-added tax on gas and fuel expected to reduce pump prices by as much as 30 euro cents per litre, or roughly 20 euros per tank for the average car.

Sanchez also said the government would cap the maximum price of butane and propane.

The government will also slash electricity taxes by 60 percent, suspend a production tax and reduce the value-added tax on electricity to 10 percent from 21 percent.

Additional support includes a direct subsidy of 0.20 euros per litre of fuel for transport operators, farmers, ranchers and fishermen, along with equivalent aid for fertilizer purchases.

Sanchez also announced a decree introducing a "temporary freeze" on rents in Spain, which like other European nations is grappling with a housing crisis as rents skyrocket.

This measure still requires approval from parliament, where the government lacks a majority.

It was included under pressure from Sanchez's junior coalition partners, the far-left Sumar party.

"I am extremely angry about the situation the world is in, which certain decisions and governments are pushing us into," Sanchez said, repeating his opposition to the war being waged by the United States and Israel against Iran.

"Spaniards will have to bear a cost of five billion euros -- money that could have been spent on scholarships, healthcare or social services."

Sanchez defiantly refused to let US troops use its bases to attack Iran at the start of the conflict, a move that drew sharp criticism from US President Donald Trump.

He said Spain was the "best prepared" country to face the crisis thanks to its higher reliance on renewable energy.

Renewable power makes up around 55 percent of Spain's energy mix, while the country imports most of its crude oil from the Americas and Africa.

The EU's fourth-largest economy has in recent years registered growth rates far higher than its peers, notably thanks to domestic consumption, tourism and exports.