Economic policymakers in GCC countries are watching the decline in the price of oil and wondering whether they have they got their sums right in planning state budgets.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude hit an 18-month low last week, falling below the US$90 level. At that price, it is hovering close to the levels at which some countries in Opec have drawn up their annual spending plans.
"It is not panic yet, but it's a risky situation. It's important to bear in mind how markets have behaved in the past, especially in 2008," says Jarmo Kotilaine, the chief economist with National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia.
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