Middle East Looks To Covid-19 Vaccines For Economic Relief, But Recovery May Still Be Slow

Middle East Looks To Covid-19 Vaccines For Economic Relief, But Recovery May Still Be Slow

Vials labelled as Coronavirus vaccine and a syringe. (Photo Illustration: Igor Golovniov/SOPA ... [+] Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)



SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Promising recent results from a trio of Covid-19 vaccine trials – developed by Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer



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/BioNTech and Moderna – has sparked some optimism that a global recovery from the coronavirus-induced slump could be in sight.

That is good news for the world's major oil producers, who have seen their income slump this year as a result of the low demand caused by home-working and international travel restrictions.

London-based Capital Economics has raised its forecast for global economic activity in 2021 to 6.8% and suggests oil prices will rise sharply next year to reach $60 a barrel by the end of 2021. “There is considerable pent-up demand for travel, leisure activities and holidays in the developed world,” said Caroline Bain, chief commodities economist at the consultancy, in a note published on November 30.

However, there are still many questions that need to be answered before big oil producers in the Middle East can start to be confident their economic fortunes are about to take