Arab oil producers to have a windfall year
The world’s economy is forecast to grow around 3.6% this year, but Arab oil exporters are seeing a windfall from high energy prices that will buoy their economies and replenish their financial reserves this year and next, according to a report released Wednesday by the International Monetary Fund.
Higher energy prices spell fortune for the region’s oil producers, like Saudi Arabia where economic growth is expected to hit 7.6% this year. Kuwait is forecast to see 8% growth in 2022. Iraq will see the biggest expansion of its economy in the region, with 9.5% growth projected this year.
As a whole, the IMF expects that in the next five years, the level of additional inflows and financial reserves to Mideast oil exporting countries will exceed $1 trillion.
