GCC fixed-income yields are benefitting from a decline in geopolitical risk premiums following the US-Iran deal, according to Fitch Ratings. This is reflected in yield spreads between GCC investment-grade debt and US Treasury bonds having returned to pre-war levels.
The interim agreement between the US and Iran aimed at ending the Middle East conflict is expected to pave the way for Iran to resume oil exports immediately, according to US officials.
The United States and Iran have signed a preliminary agreement aimed at ending months of conflict and paving the way for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief for Tehran and a new round of negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is acting quickly and decisively with $4 billion in financing to help countries withstand the impact of the Middle East conflict, including about $3 billion requested by governments and $1 billion provided as trade finance for energy and food imports.
The United States launched a new round of strikes on military targets across Iran overnight, prompting retaliatory missile and drone attacks by Tehran against US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan and renewed threats to shut the Strait of Hormuz. The latest exchanges have heightened concerns that the conflict could again hit life in the Gulf.
Iran is expected to respond on Thursday to a US proposal aimed at ending the conflict and establishing a framework for broader nuclear negotiations, according to media reports, as diplomatic efforts intensified amid continuing tensions in the Gulf.
The US authorities believe they are nearing an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the ongoing conflict and establishing a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations, said an Axios report.
Around 20,000 seafarers remain trapped and unable to leave in and around the Strait of Hormuz, said International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had informed his representatives not to rush into a deal with Iran dashing earlier hopes that an agreement was imminent.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that a broader agreement between the United States and Iran had been “largely negotiated” and that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened, signalling potential momentum toward ending the monthslong conflict.
