Economics

What a Difference $10 Billion Makes to Gulf's Weakest Link

  • Bahrain bond yield premium to Oman’s narrows after bailout
  • Prospects for GCC support for Oman less immediate, Fitch says
Aerial view of the skyline of Manama, Bahrain.Photographer: Phil Weymouth
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Bahrain and Oman are the most vulnerable economies in the Gulf, but one has a $10 billion bailout package and the other is on its own.

That’s why the bonds of Bahrain, whose dwindling foreign-currency reserves fueled concern this year that its currency’s peg to the dollar may be at risk, became 2018’s best performers in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council after Saudi Arabia and other rich allies came to the rescue in October.