Saturday 6 October 2012

Saudi says IMF's 2016 deficit forecast is "doomsday scenario" - CNBC

International Monetary Fund forecasts that Saudi Arabia's budget surpluses will gradually decline before dropping into deficit by 2016 are a "doomsday scenario", the kingdom's Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf said on Saturday.

The world's top oil exporter has run large budget surpluses since 2009 but the IMF said in a report last month that falling energy prices would hurt the kingdom's fiscal position.

"They have been working on scenarios assuming, I would say, a doomsday scenario which I don't agree with. But we appreciate they are raising these issues in order to be ready," he told reporters after a meeting with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde in Riyadh.

No comments:

Post a Comment