A poll of economists stated that the economic growth of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries will accelerate this year to a pace not seen in the last ten years, and experts said that high inflation and a slowdown in the economy Global are the biggest risks.
Crude prices, the main driver of the Gulf economies, rose after Russia declared war on Ukraine in February and kept rising, giving a major boost to the region's rich oil and gas economies.
A Reuters poll conducted from April 12 to 22 predicted that the total growth of the six Gulf Cooperation Council economies would average 5.9% this year, the fastest The pace since 2012.
As for Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the region and the world's leading exporter of crude oil, about 80% of the respondents, or 17 out of 22, raised their expectations compared to the previous poll. In January, they expected growth at 6.3% in 2022, up from 5.7% expected three months ago, which is followed by a decline to 3.2% next year.
If that happens, the growth in 2022 will be the fastest since 2011 when the average oil price was around $111 per barrel.
The expected growth in Kuwait reached 6.4%, and in the UAE 5.6%, to be the fastest in about ten years.
The expected growth for Qatar, the Sultanate of Oman and Bahrain came at about 4%, to be the fastest in several years.
