Given the massive negative hit taken by Saudi Arabia’s economy as a result of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s oil price war, aimed at destroying the U.S. shale oil industry yet again (given how well it worked last time, of course), Saudi’s ability to help its tiny neighbour, Bahrain, has been dramatically reduced. The irony here is that Bahrain’s economy had not recovered from the deleterious effects of the first oil price war launched by the Saudis against the U.S. in 2014 before it was hit again by the second. Even before the full reckoning of the costs of MbS’s latest folly is made on Bahrain’s economy, its gross domestic product contracted by 1.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, and it now has a fiscal breakeven Brent oil price of at least US$91.80 per barrel (pb), according to IMF figures. One potential positive outcome for […]