MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Middle Eastern oil-exporting countries have lost nearly $400 billion in export revenue due to the slump in oil prices, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday.
"Export receipts in MENAP oil exporters declined by $390 billion in 2015…Mirroring the large loss in export receipts, fiscal balances have deteriorated considerably," the IMF said in its latest Middle East and Central Asia update.
Algeria, as well as states belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, have all seen surpluses turn to deficit in 2015, with a deficit of 8 percent GDP projected for 2016.
"Oil prices are likely to remain low for many years to come. And as a result, the countries in the Middle East that depend on oil for their economies are going to go through a number of years of difficult adjustment to balance their budgets to the new lower oil prices, but also to find a new growth model which does not depend on oil to drive their economies," IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department Director Masood Ahmed said.
Global oil prices plunged from $115 to less than $30 per barrel between June 2014 and January 2016, hitting their lowest levels since 2003 amid an ongoing glut in global oil supply. The prices have since recovered to around $40-45 per barrel for the Brent crude benchmark.
