The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday oil exporting countries in the Middle East continue to have the world's largest energy subsidy bill and that additional reforms are still needed to curb government spending. "Going forward, we believe additional reforms are still needed as well as fiscal reforms for the GCC countries to keep reducing the level of deficit," said Jihad Azour, IMF's Mideast and Central Asia department director. Although an agreement last year by major oil-producing countries to cut crude oil output helped increase prices, the outlook for the oil market remains uncertain. The drop in oil prices has pushed the kingdom's foreign reserves down to $508 billion. Oil importing countries, such as Egypt, have been somewhat buoyed by the lower oil prices, but economic growth continues to be hampered by security concerns and regional conflicts.

Source: Egypt Independent May 02, 2017 05:26 UTC