Net oil importers in the MENA region, including Egypt, can expect to see their growth rise to 4.3% this year from 3.6% in 2016, the IMF said in its Regional Economic Outlook October 2017 report. The upswing is expected to persist in 2018, supported by increasing domestic demand, supportive reforms, and the global uptick in growth. Egypt was particularly noted for efforts to address fiscal imbalances despite growth remaining largely unchanged. External imbalances among net oil importers in the region will also see improvement on the back international bond issuances (as is the case with Egypt) and an uptick in commodity prices.

Net oil exporters are not expected to fare as well, with overall growth expected to bottom out at 1.7% in 2017, driven by lower oil output under the OPEC-led agreement. “Low oil prices have kept the fiscal deficits large in many oil exporters, highlighting the need for a continued focus on deficit reduction. Budget deficits of oil exporters jumped to 10.6 percent of GDP in 2016 from 1.1 percent of GDP in 2014,” the IMF said.