Saudi economy 'buoyant' but growth to slow this year, says IMF
Source: BI-ME with Reuters , Author: Posted by BI-ME staff
Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 6:12 pm



Run MS Office Pro
2010 on latest Win7
Ultimate OS to
increase your
business confidence




Buy HP Pavilion
 laptop with Corsair
DDR3 RAM for
superb performance




Need a personal loan
in Dubai? Contact
Citibank UAE for all
of your banking needs

SAUDI ARABIA. Saudi Arabia's oil-dependent economy should remain "buoyant," although growth is forecast to slow this year given uncertainties over the euro zone debt crisis and a decline in crude prices, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

In its annual review of the world's top oil producer, the IMF said growth was likely to slow to 6%, down from 7.1% last year.

Inflation would likely remain at around 5%, although the IMF urged Saudi authorities to monitor it closely for signs of economic overheating, the Fund added.

High oil prices and increased state spending ignited a boom in the Saudi economy last year. But worries about the debt crisis in the euro zone and easing growth in China, a major importer of Saudi oil, are expected to weigh on Saudi growth.

The IMF said the outlook for the Saudi economy was subject to "some uncertainty" given the prospect of lower oil prices.

It said Saudi Arabia's fiscal and external surpluses should hit 17% and 27% of gross domestic product this year, respectively.

 

MIDDLE EAST BUSINESS COMMENT & ANALYSIS

date:Posted: May 18, 2013
UAE. "The general trading atmosphere is sufficiently negative for gold to enable sellers to have a firm grip on the market. However, I fail to see how the rally in the stock markets can be put into any sensible relation to the economic plight of the underlying countries."
date:Posted: May 17, 2013
EGYPT. The Egyptian government has taken tentative steps towards reducing the roughly US$20 billion subsidy system that supporters say provides vital aid to the one-in-four Egyptians in poverty, and critics say is unsustainable and enriches the corrupt.
date:Posted: May 17, 2013
UAE. Red Hat's Mark Little and Tom Llewellyn explain how Large-scale Elastic Architecture for Data-as-a-Service (LEADS) will enable enterprises to leverage all of the public data on the web against privately held data.



Wide selection of craft tools and coloured pencils will give more options to your creative side


Doing business in the Middle East? Your starting point is GulfTradeHolding, the Middle East Business Directory