IMF sees bumper year for Arab oil producers, risk for others

By AYA BATRAWY
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The world’s economy is forecast to grow around 3.6% this year, but Arab oil exporters are seeing a windfall from high energy prices that will buoy their economies and replenish their financial reserves this year and next. A report released on Wednesday by the International Monetary Fund says those hard-hit in the Mideast are oil importers and countries like Egypt that also rely heavily on food imports from the Black Sea region, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has impacted exports like sunflower oil, barley and wheat worldwide. Higher energy prices, however, spell fortune for the region’s oil producers, like Saudi Arabia where economic growth is expected to hit 7.6% this year.