World Bank: 6% Growth for Iran's Economy in 2016

The World Bank in its latest report published on Friday, January 8, estimates Iran's economic growth for 2015 to be around 1.9 percent. The report titled 'Global Economic Outlook' adds that for the current year, Iran's economic growth is expected to reach 5.8 percent, and in 2017 this figure will peak at 6.7 percent. The World Bank, without specifying the exact amount of Iran's frozen assets, states that the release of these assets based on the comprehensive nuclear agreement this year will shake the country's economy. The report further states that after the lifting of sanctions, Iran's oil exports are expected to increase by 500,000 to 700,000 barrels per day by 2016, raising Iran's share of global oil consumption to 4 percent. Iran currently produces just over 2 million and 285 thousand barrels of oil per day and more than 400 thousand barrels of condensate (ultra-light oil). Iran's oil production before the sanctions was 3.7 million barrels per day. Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that as soon as the sanctions are lifted, they will increase oil production by half a million barrels per day and will raise this figure to one million barrels within six months to return oil production to pre-sanction levels. However, the World Bank adds that the revival of Iran's economy will impact regional countries, especially in the Middle East and North Africa, in such a way that the surge in oil production from this country will overshadow the economic growth prospects of oil-exporting countries, while positively affecting the economies of oil-importing countries. The increase in Iran's oil production comes at a time when OPEC's daily oil production last month exceeded 31.5 million barrels per day, with 2 million and 200 thousand barrels being surplus. OPEC states that the demand for oil from this organization in global markets in 2015 was 29 million and 400 thousand barrels per day. The price of OPEC oil has dropped from $108 in the first half of 2014 to around $27, primarily due to the surplus oil in the market. In its latest update, OPEC states that the price of its oil basket fell to $27.85 per barrel on Thursday, January 7. Meanwhile, the price of North Sea Brent oil today reached $33.44 (a decrease of 33 cents compared to the previous day) and the price of West Texas Intermediate oil in the U.S. reached $33.35 (an increase of 8 cents compared to the previous day).