Saudi Arabia needs oil at $85 a barrel to balance budget, says IMF

The International Monetary Fund’s regional director believes that that the kingdom needs oil prices to be at least $85 per barrel this year to be able to balance its budget.

On Wednesday, Jihad Azour, the International Monetary Fund’s director for the Middle East and Central Asia, said that Saudi Arabia will need oil prices to be between $85 and $87 a barrel this year to balance its budget, compared to a break-even oil price of $83 a barrel in 2017.

«I think the fact that we are currently witnessing a recovery globally and in the region, and the fact that the oil price is going up, shouldn’t at any point in time be considered as a way for them to relax efforts and to be complacent», he is quoted as saying by Reuters.

The Saudi government has projected a budget deficit of $2 billion in 2018, which it plans to balance by 2023.