Gulf region expects to weather euro storm

The Gulf is weighing the effects of the European financial crisis, as EU ministers meet to discuss emergency measures to end the mayhem on world markets.

Regional stock exchanges and other key measures of financial health fell as investors priced-in the dramatic market shifts of late last week in Europe and the US, while the price of oil hovered near US$75 (Dh275), its lowest since February. But Gulf economic experts took some comfort from the region’s overall financial resilience, as well as the corporate restructurings already under way, especially in Dubai.

The Dubai Financial Market, on the eve of its 10th anniversary, fell four per cent on fears that the European economic woes might trigger the second leg of a “double dip” recession, but recovered in late trading as investors counted the worries as overdone. It closed just 1.2 per cent lower, a similar fall to that of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.