In post-recession cash injection, oil prices boost GCC economies

In post-recession cash injection, oil prices boost GCC economies

DUBAI, UAE: Rising oil prices are boosting economic growth throughout the oil producing economies of the MENA region, with predictions that GDP will largely return to pre-pandemic levels during the course of 2022. Oil prices are expected to level out at about $70 per barrel, with global demand for oil picking up. In the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), oil activity is expected to grow by up to 8 percent in 2022, a huge increase on the 0.5 percent recorded last year.

Many of the energy-exporting nations have also enacted strong vaccine strategies, which in turn has enabled them to lift lockdown measures and reopen domestic sectors such as retail and tourism. However, despite a brief role when they led the economic recovery during the oil price shock, several non-energy exporting nations have now slipped behind their GCC neighbors when it comes to short-term growth predictions. For Jordan and Lebanon, in particular, ongoing high COVID-19 infection rates are negatively impacting their economic rebounds and contributing to weak economic growth.

The development of the region’s private sector is also likely to have an impact on the size and speed of the region’s economic recovery. As the report outlines, without private sector