Doha: After the World Bank, another global organisation has predicted a strong recovery for Qatar’s economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected a growth of 3.9 percent for Qatar’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in its World Economic Outlook.
This year’s growth forecast for Qatar’s economy is substantially higher than the growth recorded last year. According to International Monetary Fund, Qatar’s economy grew by 1.5 percent last year.
As per the IMF forecast, consumer prices in Qatar are expected to rise by 3.5 percent in the current year. Last week, the World Bank also projected a strong recovery for Qatar’s economy helped by higher hydrocarbon exports. According to a World Bank report released last week, Qatar’s real GDP is likely to grow by 4.9 percent in 2022.
The IMF has also given forecast for the countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. “Overall, GDP in the Middle East and Central Asia is expected to grow by 4.6 percent in 2022,” said the International Monetary Fund.
The report said that countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Caucasus, and Central Asia regions are highly exposed to global food prices, particularly the price of wheat, which is expected to remain high throughout the year and into 2023. In the Middle East and North Africa, spillovers from tighter global financial conditions, reduced tourism, and secondary demand spillovers (for example, from Europe) will also hold back growth, especially for oil importers. For oil exporters, higher fossil fuel prices may provide some offsetting gains.
The 190-country lender cut its forecast for global growth to 3.6 percent this year, a steep fall-off from 6.1 percent last year and from the 4.4 percent growth it had expected for 2022 back in January. It also said it expects the world economy to grow 3.6 percent again next year, slightly slower than the 3.8 percent it forecast in January.
