In its World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lifted its projections for economic growth in Saudi Arabia, the region’s biggest economy, and its oil-rich neighbors in the Gulf – while also predicting that Iran’s economy will suffer due to renewed US sanctions.
The Saudi economy is expected to grow by 2.2 percent in 2018 and 2.4 percent next year, raising previous projections by 0.5 percent, according to reports.
The growth is being “driven by a pickup in non-oil economic activity and a projected increase in crude oil production” with oil prices edging above $84 a barrel on Brent.
