Baku, Azerbaijan Apr. 25
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
Oil exporting countries of the Middle East will lose around $150 billion in 2016 in addition to the $390 billion loss in 2015 due to the low oil prices, says an updated report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The report on the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan was posted on the organization's website Apr. 25.
The loss of potential revenue put great pressure on the economies of major oil exporters, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where a large budget deficit was recorded in 2015, according to the IMF.
The budget deficit in Algeria and the Gulf Cooperation Council states will be 8 percent of GDP, while the budget deficit in other countries of the region will be 4.75 percent of GDP in 2016, said the report.
Meanwhile, as IMF experts believe, the economic growth of oil exporters in the region will increase from 2 percent in 2015 to 3 percent in 2016.
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