The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Saudi Arabia, Amin Mati, stated on Wednesday that "GDP growth for the Kingdom is likely to come in below the current IMF forecast of 1.9 percent, but it will remain positive." He predicted in an interview with Reuters that "the non-oil sector growth will remain strong this year, but overall growth will be revised downwards to reflect the latest cuts in oil supplies."
As for the fiscal deficit, the IMF forecast that Saudi Arabia will record a public finance deficit of 1.2 percent of GDP in 2023, down from a surplus of 2.5 percent in 2022, as mentioned in its latest report on Wednesday. The Saudi economy grew by 8.7 percent last year due to rising oil prices, which allowed the Kingdom to record its first budget surplus in nearly a decade. However, it is expected that production cuts this year and declining prices will impact oil revenues and overall growth.
