Four out of six GCC-countries forecast to have fiscal deficit, steel consumption growth toslow down

摘要

Four out of six GCC-countries are projected to have a fiscal deficit in 2015 on low oil prices, which might slow downnew projects in the region and as a result finished steel consumption. Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are expected to have a fiscal deficit of 3-15% of GDP, while Kuwait andQatar most probably will have a budget surplus of 5-6% this year, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF)forecast. The main reason for such a situation is decline in oil prices, which has put pressure on government spendingand pace of construction. The total value of new contracts awarded in the GCC up to 20 May, dropped nearly 28%y-o-y to $61 billion, MEED reports. This has caused concern about slowdown in construction activity and finishedsteel consumption weakening this year.