The GDP growth of Persian Gulf states will slow down to 3.2% in 2015 due to oil price drops; the budgets will lose $275 billion; their deficit will make up 12.7%, said the Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde, Prime reports.
“Currently the major share of tax and export proceeds in Gulf states is received from oil. Oil prices have sharply dropped since mid-2014, export revenues are expected to be less by 275 billion in 2015 vs. 2014, the tax and current balance on the region’s accounts are sharply decreasing. The budgetary deficit, forecast by IMF, will make up 12.7% of GDP in 2015”, said Lagarde on Sunday, while speaking to the ministers of finance of these countries at the session of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Qatar.
According to her, the Gulf States GDP growth slowdown is also expected up to 3.2% in 2015 and 2.7% in 2016, which is less than in 2014 (3.4%).
However, the created “buffer funds” (reserve funds) allow to “avoid necessity of unexpected fiscal policy intervention” and to perform social load, taken by countries, added Lagarde.
Persian Gulf States are major players on world oil market: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.
