WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The International Monetary Fund on Friday said it supports Saudi Arabian officials’ plans to unwind fiscal stimulus measures as the country’s economic growth prospects strengthen.

Saudi Arabia’s fiscal stimulus measures are credited with helping the country maintain non-oil growth levels throughout 2009 despite troubles in the global economy.
“Prudent fiscal policy provided the fiscal space to respond forcefully to the global crisis,” the IMF said in a report.
Saudi Arabia’s finance minister in January pledged to continue pumping money into the economy through 2010 to stimulate growth.
Overall, the IMF said it has a positive outlook for the Saudi Arabian economy “although vulnerabilities remain, especially from the volatility of oil prices.”
The IMF is expecting Saudi Arabia’s economy to grow by 3.7% this year, up sharply from 0.6% in 2009 but still below the 4.2% growth seen in 2008. Exports are expected to continue rising.
“Saudi Arabia was well prepared in confronting the global crisis, reflecting lessons learnt from the mid-1980s when oil prices collapsed and the country experienced a severe banking crisis,” the fund’s report said.