By John Lee. US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa' al Sudani met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to discuss Iraqi banking sector reform, financial relations with the United States, and combatting illicit finance. Deputy Secretary Adeyemo congratulated Prime Minister Sudani on Iraq's significant progress […]
By John Lee. Real GDP is expected to fall by 0.3 percent this year, according to the World Bank's latest Global Economic Prospects report. This represents a significant reduction on the previous forecast of 4.2 percent growth, issued in January. The report says, "oil production cuts have partly contributed to weakened activity in Iraq", adding, " projected […]
By Ahmed Tabaqchali, Chief Strategist of AFC Iraq Fund. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. IMF Sees Budget Boosting non-oil GDP Growth The equity market, as measured by the Rabee Securities U. S. Dollar Equity Index (RSISX USD Index), was down 1.9% […]
By John Lee. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a detailed report on the Iraqi economy. The following key points were highlighted: Improved Domestic Stability: Since the new government took office in October 2022, Iraq has experienced improved domestic stability. This facilitated the passage of its first three-year budget, which led to a large […]
By John Lee. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission met with the Iraqi authorities in Amman during February 20-29 to conduct the 2024 Article IV consultation. Some key data from their report: Economic Growth: Non-oil GDP growth: 6% in 2023. Overall growth projected to rebound in 2024. Inflation: Declined from 7.5% in January 2023 to […]
By John Lee. A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concluded a visit with Iraqi officials, concluding: Economic activity is recovering, although oil production cuts are weighing on overall growth, and at the same time inflation has declined. The large fiscal expansion in the three-year budget law poses significant risks to fiscal and […]
By John Lee. The World Bank has revised down its estimates for growth in Iraq. In its MENA Economic Update (previously known as MENA Economic Monitor), it says the forecast for GDP growth in Iraq for 2023 has been updated to -2.3 percent, 5.1 percentage points less than the forecast in April 2023, and significantly […]
From the World Bank: Statement on the Iraq Economic Monitor Spring/Summer 2023 The World Bank identified an error in the reporting of debt data for 2022 and projections for ensuing years reported in the recently published Iraq Economic Monitor (IEM) Spring/Summer 2023 issue. As a result, the debt-to-GDP ratio in 2022 was corrected from 53.8 […]
From the World Bank: Without Reforms, Iraq's Oil Boom Could Turn to Bust Iraq's economy continued its oil-driven recovery after the sharp pandemic-induced recession in 2020, but non-oil sectors have stagnated, and growth constraints have reemerged. Despite a record oil windfall and a long-awaited new budget, Iraq nevertheless remains at risk of missing the opportunity […]
By John Lee. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast growth in Iraq's real non-oil GDP 3.7 percent in 2023. Following a recent visit to Iraq, the IMF team also predicts inflation of 5.6 percent in for the year. Full statement from IMF: A staff team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Tokhir […]
By John Lee. The World Bank has said it predicts real GDP growth for Iraq of 2.8 percent this year and 4.4 percent in 2024, following an estimated growth of 7.9 percent in 2022. Iraq's growth is expected to lead the group of 'developing oil exporters' this year, partly sustained by growth in non-oil GDP […]
By Hassan Jivraj for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's tech ecosystem offers bright spot for private sector Despite numerous regional and country-specific challenges, Iraqi start-ups had a good year. Click here to read the full article.
