IMF Keeps Saudi Arabia’s Growth Forecast Unchanged

Saudi Arabia’s economy is set to expand by 4.8 % in 2022, the International Monetary Fund said in a report as it kept its estimate from October unchanged. Similarly, there were no changes made to the Kingdom’s 2023 projection, which stood at 2.8 %. Meanwhile, the international lender uplifted its expansion expectation for the Middle East and North Africa by 0.3 % to 4.4 %.

Last week, the World Bank upwardly revised the Kingdom’s forecast by 1.6 % to a similar 4.9 %, on stronger rebound in the oil sector, and it also favorably altered the MENA’s projection by 0.8 % to the same 4.4 % in 2022. However, the global outlook seemed more pessimistic, according to the IMF’s recent World Economic Outlook Update. It trimmed the global economy’s 2022 growth forecast by 0.5 % to 4.4 %.

The IMF explained that the omicron outbreak, higher energy prices and supply disruptions all present risks to the outlook, stating that the two largest economies in the world are grappling with different issues. The US projection declined by 1.2 % to 4 %. The organization removed the US$1.7 trillion Build Back Better fiscal plan from its baseline scenario and assumed monetary tightening and supply shortages.

Moreover, due to China’s zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy – which resulted in some disruptions – and its property crisis, the country’s outlook became gloomier by 0.8 % to 4.8 %