Although the original and long-planned date for the Gulf Monetary Union’s single currency was 2010, I’m putting my neck out once again and predicting that a currency union of all the current GCC countries won’t happen by end 2015.

There are too many political problems, too much fallout from the Euro and, frankly, too many good reasons not to do it. In some ways, Saudi Arabia may exert enough pressure in the region to make it work, but for the same reason I suspect some may be wary of Saudi gaining any more leverage.