Nonetheless, compared with many other regions of the world, the GCC countries remain in a strong position to withstand the current crisis. They now form a $ trillion economy. In the first five years of this decade an economy the size of Sweden was added to the GCC in terms of aggregate output.
The GCC is a net capital exporter, its Governments have surplus fiscal positions, and the GCC countries collectively are one of the world’s largest holders of foreign exchange reserves. Although oil prices have recently declined sharply from their highs in July of this year, when the price peaked at 147 dollars per barrel, the economic outlook for the GCC remains sound.