Riyadh: The Saudi economy is expected to grow 7.6% this year from 3.2% in 2021 on the back of surging oil revenues, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday. According to the IMF, the government’s Vision 2030 reform program aims to make the country less dependent on oil, boosting the economy by bringing more Saudis, especially women, into the workforce.
“Liquidity and fiscal support, momentum for reforms under Vision 2030, oil prices and output fueled the economic recovery, resulting in strong growth, subdued inflation and a resilient financial sector,” it said. rice field. “Overall growth in 2021 is a strong 3.2%, buoyed by a recovery in the non-oil sector, especially underpinned by increased employment for the Saudi people, especially women.”
Gross domestic product is “expected to rise significantly to 7.6% in 2022, despite tightening monetary policy and fiscal consolidation, and so far limited impact from the war in Ukraine.” said the IMF, forecasting GDP growth of 3.7%. 2023.
Saudi Arabia has managed to keep inflation under control at 3.1% in 2021, and the IMF forecasts little change to 2.8% this year, even as interest rates surge in many advanced economies.
The fund said this was largely due to a “low pass-through” of double-digit wholesale price inflation and rising transportation costs that are hurting the global economy.Rising oil revenues, according to the IMF and higher tax revenues from the non-oil economy, the overall fiscal balance improved by almost 9% last year to a deficit of 2.3% of GDP.
“Higher oil prices and increased oil production have improved the current account balance by 8.5 percentage points in 2021, recording a surplus of 5.3 percent of GDP. Crude oil prices are skyrocketing, down $30 a barrel from their June peak but still near $100.
High oil prices, which were a major factor in the inflationary pains suffered by consumers around the world, have also brought a windfall to the oil majors and producing countries. announced a record profit of $48.4 billion for the second quarter of 2022 on Sunday. This is the largest quarterly adjusted profit of any publicly traded company in the world.
Net profit rose 90% year-over-year for the world’s largest oil producer, setting a record for the second consecutive quarter after reporting $39.5 billion in the first three months of the year.
Saudi Arabia has sought to open up and diversify its oil-dependent economy, especially since the appointment of Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince and de facto ruler in 2017. The kingdom generated a huge surplus needed to finance non-oil development projects. -AFP
