US SPR squeezes Saudi economy
Action by consuming governments has shown they can significantly affect oil prices and put a spoke in OPEC’s wheels
Middle Eastern and Central Asian economic growth is projected to decline to 2.5% in 2023 from 5.4% in 2022, according to the IMF, with a downward revision of 0.4 percentage points compared with the previous forecast being attributable mainly to a steeper-than-expected slowdown in Saudi Arabia. Growth in the Kingdom is expected to fall from 8.7% in 2022 to 1.9% in 2023, a downward revision of 1.2 percentage points. The IMF attributed the slow Saudi growth to an agreement among OPEC+ members to cut output in April this year. Data published about the same time showed Saudi Arabia’s income from oil sales dropped in May 2023 to the lowest level since 2022 (see Fig.1). The IMF economists failed to
Also in this section
14 April 2026
The GECF has warned it may revise its projections for demand this year downwards in light of conflict in the Middle East, although it maintains its forecasts for 2027 and onwards
13 April 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis highlights sharp shift from crude oversupply to market deficit, with Iraq and Kuwait badly affected and key producers Saudi Arabia and the UAE also seeing output sharply lower
13 April 2026
Turkmenistan is moving ahead with a modest expansion of the giant Galkynysh field to sustain gas deliveries abroad, but persistent delays to other key pipeline projects and geopolitical risks continue to constrain its export ambitions
13 April 2026
Expensive electricity has forced out swathes of energy-intensive industry and now threatens the country’s ability to attract future investment in datacentres and the digital economy
