Recent Search
Popular Searches
GCC credit had a positive session last week, snapping five consecutive weeks of losses. Emerging market bonds in general had a good week with Bloomberg’s emerging market index up 0.7%. A rally in US Treasuries lifted fixed income markets more broadly as inflation data in the US came in better than expected and raised the prospect of the Federal Reserve cutting rates several times this year. Markets will likely be choppy over this week as they respond to announcements coming out of a new Trump administration in the US.
Corporate results for 2024 will start to flow through over the next several weeks for the UAE, setting the tone for the market in the next month. Among key corporate news, KKR has announced it will invest in Gulf Data Hub a UAE data centre operator with operations across UAE and Saudi Arabia and a pipeline of work across the rest of MENA.
In local macro data, full year inflation for Dubai recorded an average of 3.3% in 2024, unchanged from 2023. Housing was the primary driver of inflation in Dubai last year.
An index of local UAE bonds rallied 0.4% last week, its first gain in the past six weeks. Markets across the GCC performed well with an index of bonds in Saudi Arabia up 0.8% last week while there were gains across the rest of the bloc. By sector, sovereigns across the GCC had the best performance at 0.8% with investment grade following at 0.7%.
Spreads widened across all GCC indexes in line with an increase in broader EM spreads over benchmarks. GCC spreads ticked higher but the pull lower in US Treasury yields meant that overall yields on GCC bonds edged lower.
Selected new issuances last week included:
Edward Bell
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin
Email
