The world’s largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, could see its budget deficit drop to below 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year if oil prices average $60 per barrel, according to estimates from Moody’s carried by Arab News . Last year, the deficits of all oil-producing nations ballooned as oil prices collapsed at the onset of the pandemic and during the short-lived oil price war for market share between OPEC+ allies Saudi Arabia and Russia. The Kingdom was forced by oil market circumstances to implement some unpopular austerity measures, including a triple increase in value-added tax (VAT) and the cancellation of so-called cost-of-living allowances for civil servants. As per estimates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Saudi Arabia’s fiscal deficit soared to 11.3 percent of GDP in 2020, compared to a deficit of 4.5 percent of GDP in 2019. This year, due to the higher oil prices […]