GCC economic indicators and market performance

In 2025, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) experienced divergent economic trends regarding inflation and equity markets.

Inflation across the bloc remained stable, recorded at 1.8% for the year. This represents a slight increase from the 1.6% seen in 2024 but marks the second consecutive year that inflation has stayed below the 2% threshold. The primary drivers of this inflation were housing and miscellaneous goods and services, which together accounted for approximately 73% of the total. This period of stability follows a peak of 3.2% in 2022.

Conversely, the total market value of GCC stock exchanges declined by 6.2% in 2025, falling from $4.2 trillion in 2024 to $3.9 trillion. This downturn was largely driven by a 13.6% contraction in the Saudi Tadawul, which dropped from $2.72 trillion to $2.35 trillion. Analysts have suggested the Saudi decline may be linked to international crude oil price volatility. While the Saudi market faced significant contraction, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) saw its market capitalization increase by approximately 4.6%, reaching nearly $855 billion by the end of the year.