< Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group expected a major recession in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries this year in light of the decline in real GDP to -3.7% compared to With an expected previous growth of 2.9%.


According to Reuters, the bank said in a research note that the new forecast takes into account oil production cuts, the impact of the emerging Corona virus on non-oil economies in the region, and the stimulus provided by the governments of the Gulf Cooperation Council.


The bank estimates that low oil prices cost the six GCC countries, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the Sultanate of Oman, about $ 72 billion in lost oil export revenues in general for every drop of $ 10 a barrel, and he said that he expected in general that the financing needs of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries would be 208 Billions of dollars this year, assuming the average price of Brent at $ 43 a barrel.


He said the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council region will face difficulties in light of two shocks that tend to fall sharply - on the demand side the devastation caused by Covid-19 and on the supply side the challenges caused by the collapse of the oil price.


"The Gulf Cooperation Council region has faced setbacks and shocks for many decades, but the prospects in the short term rarely deteriorate very significantly," he added.