Originally posted to the Reuters website, 30 June 2020,
DUBAI/RIYADH (Reuters) – Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will see their economies shrink by 7.6% this year, an International Monetary Fund official said on Tuesday, revising downwards April forecasts of nearly 3%.
The six GCC nations are, with varying degrees, facing steep economic declines as the slowdown in business activity due to the coronavirus pandemic is amplified by a price drop in hydrocarbons, which are their main source of revenue.
The IMF last week said Saudi Arabia’s economy – the largest in the Arab world – faces a 6.8% contraction this year, sharper than the 2.3% the Washington-based lender had forecast in April.
“We expect the GCC economies to contract by 7.6% this year, the contraction will be across all sectors, oil and non-oil,” Jihad Azour, director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, said on Tuesday at a virtual economic forum.
He said oil-producing countries in other regions were likely to see even larger drops.
Bahrain – one of the smallest Gulf producers – expects its economy to shrink in line with IMF forecasts, said Central Bank Governor Rasheed Mohammed al-Maraj, also speaking at the forum.
The IMF in April had projected Bahrain’s economy to contract by 3.6% this year.
Saudi Arabia’s central bank governor said instead that the kingdom expects its economy to fare better than forecast by the IMF.
Without providing a number, Ahmed al-Kholifey, governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), said the IMF outlook was “more pessimistic” than Saudi Arabia’s own projections.
Link to the original post : https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-economy-imf/gulf-economies-to-shrink-by-7-6-this-year-imf-says-idUSKBN2411RS
