IMF: Mideast loses $270B oil income amid virus, recession

IMF: Mideast loses $270B oil income amid virus, recession:

The Middle East’s energy producers are expected to earn $270 billion less in oil revenue compared to last year as the region’s economic heavyweight, Saudi Arabia, sinks deeper into recession amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the International Monetary Fund’s outlook released Monday.

The international lender expects an overall economic contraction of 7.3% in Mideast oil exporting countries this year due to hits from the coronavirus outbreak and oil market turmoil. The contraction is 2% greater than the IMF’s initial projections in mid-April.

“We are in a year like no other and therefore developments are very fast and coping with them is challenging for everyone,” Jihad Azour, director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia department, told The Associated Press.

The IMF had projected in April that Saudi Arabia’s economy would contract by about 2.3% this year. It has since revised that figure downward, saying the kingdom stands to see economic growth shrink by 6.8% before climbing to around 3% growth next year.