Fitch Ratings: Oil Helped GCC through Worst of Covid Crisis

The ravaging of the world economy by COVID-19 has provided valuable lessons for the region’s oil dependent economies and made them more resilient, according to economists and ratings experts who addressed a Fitch Ratings conference on Monday.

The first day of the virtual Fitch Ratings Global Sovereign Conference took place on Monday and focused on the Middle East and North Africa region, its economic activity and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jan Friederich, Fitch Ratings’ senior director and head of Middle East and Africa Sovereign Ratings, said the pandemic did not significantly impact oil production and he expects prices to normalize.