The six oil and gas exporters who make up the GCC – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain – are focusing on trimming government spending sooner rather than later in response to falling oil prices.
With prices for the OPEC crude basket – generally representative of medium-sour Gulf export grades – standing at around $83/B, down $25/B in the past four months, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has called for urgent fiscal consolidation in the GCC countries. (CONTINUED - 1561 WORDS)
