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    Gulf’s fiscal diet risks deeper pain amid oil price uncertainty

    By Davide Barbuscia DUBAI (Reuters) – Oil-rich Gulf nations are relying on a well-worn playbook of spending less and borrowing more to get through the coronavirus crisis but with the outlook for oil clouded by uncertainty the strategy is riskier than before. Previous bouts of belt-tightening have relied on rebounding oil prices to replenish state coffers but Gulf states have bigger funding needs and lower foreign assets than in previous crises, while the pandemic risks keeping energy demand subdued for longer. Brent prices have rebounded since plunging to a more than 20-year low in April, but at just over $40 per barrel, they are significantly below what most Gulf states…

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