TAHIR AMIN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s growth rate is projected to slow considerably in 2017, reflecting “primarily a slowdown in activity in oil exporters before recovering in 2018,” said the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF report titled “World Economic Outlook update”, states that growth would slow down also in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and for the same reason as in Pakistan: a slowdown in activity in oil exporters.

The 2017–18 forecast is broadly unchanged relative to the April 2017 WEO, but the growth outcome in 2016 is estimated to have been considerably stronger in light of higher growth in Iran. The recent decline in oil prices, if sustained, could weigh further on the outlook for the region’s oil exporters.

The IMF has projected regional growth at 2.6 percent for 2017 against five percent in 2016, but projected to rebound to 3.3 percent in 2018.