Is Saudi Arabia’s Oil Strategy Working?

The IMF estimated that Saudi Arabia will need oil prices to
trade at about $70 per barrel in 2018 for its budget to breakeven,
a dramatic improvement from the $96.60 per barrel it needed just
last year. Saudi’s improvement is the most dramatic out of all the
Middle Eastern oil producers, and it also suggests the combination
of austerity, cuts to wasteful subsidies, new taxes and economic
reforms are starting to bear fruit. The improvement is all the more
important because Saudi Arabia and its fellow OPEC members are
restraining output as…

The IMF estimated that Saudi Arabia will need oil prices to
trade at about $70 per barrel in 2018 for its budget to breakeven,
a dramatic improvement from the $96.60 per barrel it needed just
last year. Saudi’s improvement is the most dramatic out of all the
Middle Eastern oil producers, and it also suggests the combination
of austerity, cuts to wasteful subsidies, new taxes and economic
reforms are starting to bear fruit. The improvement is all the more
important because Saudi Arabia and its fellow OPEC members are
restraining output as…