For investors hunting for yield, bonds from the region offer a better return than those from more developed markets, although some money managers are growing more cautious on the region.
Dissatisfied by the stalled promise of the Arab Spring, they say that entrepreneurship in the Middle East can yield truly lasting and beneficial change for the region.
The day's lows occurred late in the session, after Dow Jones Newswires reported that European Union finance ministers' four-hour teleconference failed to yield a new agreement to beef up the region's rescue funds, dashing traders' hopes for progress increasing the region's bailout powers.