In 2016 the Middle East will lose $ 150 billion due to the fall in oil prices. About it writes The Wall Street Journal with reference to the assessment of International monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF experts have concluded that the States of the region will lose export revenue as a result of the collapse of oil prices from 115 dollars per barrel in 2014 to $ 40 at the moment. In 2015, the country sustained a loss of 390 billion dollars because of cheap oil. Stronger just in the past year have affected Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, the IMF said.
According to the Director of the Department of Middle East and Central Asia IMF Masood Ahmed (Masood Ahmed), many oil-producing States will have to adapt to low prices for hydrocarbons in the next four to five years.
April 1, the Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that the Kingdom is preparing for “the twilight of the petroleum century” and plans to create a sovereign Fund with a volume of two trillion dollars for later get rid of dependence on oil.
Because of the collapse in oil prices Saudi Arabia 2015 finished the year with a record budget deficit of 98 billion dollars (367 billion riyals).
At the end of October last year the IMF warned that in the next five years, Saudi Arabia will face growing budget deficit. Fund analysts estimate that the Kingdom can have a balanced budget at 106 dollars per barrel.
