GCC not likely to be hit by Egypt unrest: report

According to a key Saudi investment firm, Egypt's crisis is unlikely to hit the economies of Gulf oil producers while their crude output may not be impacted unless the Suez canal is blocked.

"While it is convenient to consider all of the countries in the Middle East as similar entities, there are actually vast differences between them and in particular, we believe the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries stand apart, both economically and from a stability standpoint," said NCB capital (NCBC), an offshoot of National Commercial Bank, Saudi Arabia's largest bank.

According to the report, oil prices had begun to surge towards $100 a barrel on Friday on fears over production in the region.

The report said that as far as Egypt was concerned, the Arab country was a small oil producer and there would be little global impact if production there slowed.

"We see little chance of production being affected in the main GCC producing countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait) on the instability of the surrounding countries, the report said.

"However, transportation is another issue, with fears that shipping through the Suez canal may be impacted by the protests in Egypt."