IMF sees Saudi Arabia 2.9% non-oil GDP growth in 2019

According to Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the real non-oil growth of Saudi Arabia is expected to strengthen to 2.9 per cent in 2019 as government spending and confidence increase, but real GDP growth is projected to slow to 1.9 per cent as real oil growth slows to 0.7 per cent. The IMF recently concluded the Article IV Consultation with Saudi Arabia and expects that the implementation of the Opec+ agreement will act as drag on the real GDP growth this year. However, the Fund expects growth to pick-up over the medium-term as ongoing reforms take hold.