The Gulf: After the credit shock, a year of stabilisation is in prospect

* username: rupertbu

The Gulf is starting to recover from its worst year since the late 1990s – the last time oil prices collapsed and the region experienced a sharp downturn.

After initial, misplaced optimism that the region would be protected from the credit crunch, the downturn hit all six Arab Gulf states far harder than had been expected, as oil prices declined and credit vanished.

After a five-year petrodollar boom that shaped the world’s perception of the Gulf as a cast-iron investment destination, the region came crashing to a halt. Nominal GDP fell by a fifth.