IMF sees Saudi growth soaring 7.6% this year on oil revenues

IMF sees Saudi growth soaring 7.6% this year on oil revenues

RIYADH: The Saudi economy is expected to grow 7.6 percent this year, up from 3.2 percent in 2021, on the back of soaring oil revenues, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday. The government’s Vision 2030 reform program, designed to reduce the kingdom’s dependence on oil, has also given the economy a boost as more Saudis join the workforce, particularly women, the IMF said.

“Liquidity and fiscal support, reform momentum under Vision 2030 and high oil prices and production helped the economy recover with a robust growth, contained inflation and a resilient financial sector,” it said. “Overall growth was robust at 3.2 percent in 2021, in particular driven by a rebounding non-oil sector-supported by higher employment for Saudi nationals, particularly women.”

Gross domestic product was “expected to increase significantly to 7.6 percent in 2022 despite monetary policy tightening and fiscal consolidation, and a, thus far, limited fall-out from the war in Ukraine,” the IMF said, while projecting GDP growth of 3.7 percent in 2023.

The kingdom managed to contain inflation at 3.1 percent in 2021, and the IMF predicted it would remain little changed this year at 2.8 percent, even as rates soar in much of the developed world.

The fund said that was largely