This year’s oil price rally will help Middle Eastern oil producers book current account surpluses of $165 billion in 2021, compared to current account deficits of $6 billion in 2020, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said in a new report cited by Reuters . According to the IIF, the oil producing and exporting countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will also book $138 billion in current account surpluses in 2022, based on an oil price forecast of $66 per barrel Brent next year. For this year, the current account surplus estimate is based on an oil price outlook of $71 per barrel Brent. The MENA region “has weathered the economic storm from the health crisis,” the IIF says , adding that higher energy prices are expected to improve the fiscal and current account positions in oil-exporting countries. Oil importers, on the other hand, will […]