(MENAFN) According to the International Monetary Fund, Iraq's oil dependent economy is expected to contract by about 0.5 percent, which is lower than previously expected, due to the country's rising oil production, Arab News reported.
These estimates come after the fund has predicted that Iraq's gross domestic product would shrink 2.7 percent this year in its World Economic Outlook report in October.
For 2015, Iraq's GDP growth is expected at about 2.0 percent, stronger than the earlier forecast of 1.5 percent, due to expectations that oil production and exports will continue to increase, helped by the recent agreement between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government on oil exports.
Despite the country's continuous struggle with its growth in the nonoil sector due to political unrest, the country's oil sector seem to be improving since most of the facilities are in the south, the quieter and more stable region currently in Iraq, as the country's output is expected to climb to 3.3 million barrels per day in 2014, increasing from 3.1 million barrels a day in 2013, while exports are expected to remain at their 2013 level of 2.5 million barrels.
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