By John Lee. The Iraq Mission Chief for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Iraq's oil sector grew by 13 percent in 2015 and by more than 20 percent during the first five months of 2016. This contrasts with the fortunes of the non-oil economy, which contracted by 19 percent in 2015 and is […]
By John Lee. According to a report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the external outlook for Iraq has worsened since the latest Article IV consultation assessment (May-June), mainly owing to a further weakening of global oil prices. The analysis finds: "Lower capital spending on the back of falling oil revenue is expected to contract […]
The World Bank expects the Iraqi economy to grow 3.1 percent in 2016, according its flagship "Global Economic Prospects" report released yesterday. This follows an estimated growth of 0.5 percent last year, driven by increased oil production. Growth rates of 7.1 percent and 6.5 percent are predicted for 2017 and 2018 respectively. These figures are […]
By Mark A. DeWeaver. Last month Barcelona-based economics consultancy FocusEconomics launched an interesting new product—a survey of professional forecasters for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The section on the Iraqi economy is particularly useful given the lack of attention this subject normally receives. It includes consensus projections for 25 macro variables going […]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued its findings following a recent visit to Iraq. End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the […]
This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. A Bigger Threat Than The Extremists: Iraq On Verge Of Economic Collapse? The high cost of fighting the extremist Islamic State group, the worldwide decrease in oil prices, corruption and […]
By Mark A DeWeaver. As of November 6, 18 of the 21 ISX listed banks have reported third quarter earnings. The numbers aren’t pretty. Rabee Securities’ latest corporate profits report shows bank-sector aggregate profits for the first nine months down 17% year-on-year. Taking out BUND, an obvious outlier with earnings growth of 115%, the decline […]
By John Lee. A new report from the International Monetary Fund says that Iraq's economy is expected to shrink by 2.7 percent this year as a result of the security crisis in the country. This follows a 4.2 percent growth in GDP in 2013 and 10.3 percent the previous year, and would be the first […]
By John Lee. A new report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast that the Iraqi economy will contract this year due to continuing war against the Islamic State. In its October World Economic Outlook, it says that Iraq's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to shrink by 2.66 percent this year, down from […]
By Layth Mahdi, Agricultural Advisor. The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Poverty and Unemployment Not Being Addressed in the Coming Iraqi Elections Iraq's poverty and unemployment is increasing every year despite the Government's efforts to implement programs to lower it. The United […]
By John Lee. The Acting Central Bank Governor, Abdul-Basit Turki, has told Reuters that Iraq’s economy should grow 9 percent this year, as it increases its oil production. He also predicted international currency reserves of between $105 billion and $110 billion by the end of this year. Central Bank predictions for last year were for […]
By John Lee. Iraq’s GDP is expected to grow by 33% over the next three years, according to a report from Reuters. The average rate of about 10% per annum over the next three years will be driven by increased oil revenues, Mudher Kasim, deputy governor of the central bank, told Reuters in an interview. […]
