Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 2.6% during 2021, compared to a 3.9% contraction last year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest World Economic Outlook.

The IMF expected in its October forecast a 3.1% growth in 2021 for the Gulf country.

In 2022, the IMF expected the Saudi economy to expand by 4%, compared with previous growth estimates of 3.4%.

On the global economy, the IMF said, “Although recent vaccine approvals have raised hopes of a turnaround in the pandemic later this year, renewed waves and new variants of the virus pose concerns for the outlook. Amid exceptional uncertainty, the global economy is projected to grow 5.5% in 2021 and 4.2% in 2022.”