Gulf States in July 2026: the most important developments in economy
In July 2026 the economy of the Gulf States was dominated by oil prices and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. On July 5 OPEC+ agreed to raise output by 188,000 barrels a day in August, as exports through the strait were recovering, and prices fell to pre-war levels. On July 8 President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran over; oil rose 5% to 7% to about $79 a barrel, and on July 9 tanker traffic in the strait nearly stopped. Brent passed $86 on July 14 after Iran struck two UAE tankers and topped $100 on July 23, when the strait was reported completely closed. After the US and Iran paused fighting over the weekend of July 25 and 26, oil fell more than 6% on July 27 and reached a two-week low the next day, then rose again on July 29 after fresh strikes. On July 30 Qatar sent its first LNG tanker through the strait since the attack of July 11.
The Red Sea became a second pressure point. On July 20 Yemen's Houthis announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and later targeted two Saudi tankers; tanker traffic fell to multi-month lows, Saudi crude was rerouted via the Suez Canal, and Saudi Aramco shut a 400,000-barrel-a-day refinery after a Houthi strike. Kuwait reported Iranian attacks that damaged a power and desalination station and an oil facility. Dubai planned a new port in the Gulf of Oman to bypass the strait, the United States backed an Iraq-to-Syria pipeline, and a US-Saudi consortium planned a $5 billion refinery outside Hormuz.
Business deals continued. Adnoc signed a 15-year LNG supply agreement with Japan's Inpex, agreed to buy Shell's South African fuel business for $1 billion and announced $6.2 billion for gas projects. Kuwait signed a record $16 billion lease and leaseback deal for its oil pipeline network on July 25. The United States and the UAE launched a joint military artificial intelligence task force on July 28, and the United States and Saudi Arabia signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement on July 23. Qatar Energy extended its gas force majeure until October.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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