Oil drop, coronavirus are 'perfect storm' for Middle East, North Africa: World Bank - Reuters:
A record drop in oil prices and the coronavirus outbreak have left the Middle East and North Africa more exposed than other regions to fallout from a possible global recession, according to the World Bank.
Oil prices suffered their biggest one-day fall in nearly 30 years on Monday, after the unexpected collapse of a production agreement between Saudi Arabia, Russia and other major crude producers triggered a price war.
Meanwhile, cases of coronavirus are rising across the two regions. Iran is one of the global epicentres of the outbreak, with more than 8,000 cases and almost 300 fatalities, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
“As the world struggles with the fear of recession, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) could be the hardest hit by what is arguably a perfect storm: the coronavirus spreads to the region and oil prices collapse,” the World Bank said in a briefing paper by Rabah Arezki, its chief economist for MENA, and a second economist, Rachel Fang.
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