According to the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), GCC economies are projected to slow down in 2019 in tandem with slower growth forecasts for most global economies. Growth in the Middle East and Central Asia region is expected to be 0.9 per cent in 2019, 0.4 percentage point lower than in the April 2019 WEO, largely due to the downward forecast revision for Iran (owing to the effect of tighter US sanctions) and Saudi Arabia. In the GCC, with the exception of Bahrain and Qatar, all economies are projected post slower real GDP growth compared to 2018. While Bahrain is expected to grow at 2 per cent this year compared to 1.8 per cent last year, the UAE is expected to maintain growth at 1.6 per cent compared to an estimated 1.8 per cent growth last year.