{
  "id": 12880429,
  "title": "Middle East economy to shrink 2.1% in 2026, Gulf economies by 4.3%, World Bank forecasts",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/middle-east-economy-to-shrink-2-1-in-2026-gulf-economies-by-4-3-world",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-08T13:48:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Jerusalem Post",
    "slug": "jerusalem-post",
    "url": "https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-911069"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The World Bank has forecast that the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan region will experience a contraction of 2.1% in 2026, with Gulf Cooperation Council states expected to contract by an average of 4.3%. Qatar and Kuwait are anticipated to be the hardest-hit GCC economies, with GDP projected to decline by 20.9% and 14.6% respectively, while the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are expected to be the least affected, with GDP growth forecast to contract by 1.6% and 2.0% respectively. The disruption caused by the conflict has led to significant declines in oil production and increased inflation in the region, with Qatar's food inflation exceeding 12% year-on-year and Bahrain and Oman experiencing food inflation surpassing 7%.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}