Gulf economies seen shrinking sharply in 2020, to pick up in 2021: Reuters poll - Reuters

Gulf economies seen shrinking sharply in 2020, to pick up in 2021: Reuters poll - Reuters:

Economic activity in the Gulf will contract sharply this year before recovering in 2021, hit by the double shock of the coronavirus pandemic and an oil price crash, a quarterly Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.

Analysts in the July 7-20 poll see a deep economic contraction in the hydrocarbon-producing region this year as oil prices were hit on the supply and demand sides simultaneously.

Saudi Arabia’s GDP was seen shrinking 5.2% this year before rebounding to 3.1% growth next year. A similar poll conducted three months ago saw the region’s biggest economy and world’s largest oil exporter growing 1.0% in 2020 and 2.0% in 2021.

In March, a Saudi-Russian price war caused oil prices to plummet, and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies subsequently implemented output cuts.