The International Monetary Fund further lowered its GDP growth forecast for Saudi Arabia for 2024 to 1.5% and estimated growth to accelerate to 4.6% next year in its latest World Economic Outlook Report released on Tuesday.
The kingdom is the world's top oil exporter and its public finances remain largely reliant on revenue from hydrocarbons © IMF
The International Monetary Fund further lowered its GDP growth forecast for Saudi Arabia for 2024 to 1.5% and estimated growth to accelerate to 4.6% next year in its latest World Economic Outlook Report released on Tuesday.
In July, the IMF lowered its GDP projections for Saudi Arabia's 2024 GDP by nearly a percentage point from its April estimates to 1.7%.
Growth for the Middle East and Central Asia region is forecast at 2.4% in 2024, and projected to increase to 3.9% next year as temporary disruptions to oil production and shipping are expected to fade away, the IMF said.
"Compared with that in April, the projection has been revised downward by 0.4 percentage point for 2024, mainly the result of the extension of oil production cuts in Saudi Arabia and ongoing conflict in Sudan taking a large toll," Tuesday's report said.
The kingdom is the world's top oil exporter and its public finances remain largely reliant on revenue from hydrocarbons although it has accelerated efforts to bolster non-oil growth and develop new income streams.
The IMF projects oil prices will rise by 0.9% in 2024 to about $81 a barrel. It has previously said Saudi Arabia needs prices at close to $100 per barrel to balance its budget.
Reporting by Rachna Uppal
Rescuers pulled three more crew members and a security guard alive from the Red Sea on Thursday, maritime security sources said, a day after Houthi militants sank the Greek ship Eternity C and said they were holding some of the crew still missing.
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan held substantive talks in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, their governments said, in what amounted to the most serious direct negotiations yet in a fitful process to end almost four decades of conflict.
Iran's president said on Thursday the U.N. nuclear watchdog should drop its "double standards" if Tehran is to resume cooperation with it over the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, Iranian state media reported.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.