Gulf economies suffer as coronavirus hurts oil, trade

DUBAI: Gulf economies will grow at a slower pace than estimated this year, as the coronavirus hurts oil demand, trade and tourism, Standard Chartered PLC said.

“The Gulf Cooperation Council is exposed to the slowdown in global growth - and China growth in particular - via two main channels: softer oil demand growth (with lower prices underpinning the need for ongoing production cuts by Opec producers) and weaker trade and tourism, ” economists Bilal Khan and Carla Slim wrote in a note dated Feb 25.