Iraq: IMF: Less Iraq Contraction in 2014 on Rising Oil Output

Dec 9, 2014 | AFP
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The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday said Iraq's oil-dependent economy was expected to contract much less than previously thought this year due to rising oil production.

IMF staff met with top Iraqi officials, including the finance chief and governor of the central bank, last week in Amman, Jordan, to discuss the country's recent economic development, the Islamic State insurgency and the decline in oil prices, the Fund said in a statement.

"Iraq's GDP is expected to contract by about 0.5 percent this year largely because of the economic effects of the ISIS insurgency," the head of the team, Carlo Sdralevich, said in the statement, using the initials of another name for the insurgent group.