Gulf nations gritting teeth for tough times

Kuwait City

GULF countries are bracing themselves for tough times as vital oil revenues fall and after they missed a golden opportunity to diversify their economies in a decade of unprecedented windfalls, analysts say.

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - which form the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - could soon start reeling from falling oil prices, which have dropped by half from their 2014 highs to around US$60 a barrel.

Pumping about 17.5 million barrels per day, GCC countries are forecast to lose at least half their oil revenues, or around US$350 bil…