DUBAI: Bahrain’s economy shrank on an annual basis in the first quarter of 2018 for the first time in at least seven years, hit by a fall in oil production, data from the official statistics agency showed on Wednesday. The figures may increase concern about the health of Bahrain’s economy as it struggles with a current account gap and a large state budget deficit, which have dragged down prices of its international bonds and pushed the Bahraini dinar to a 17-year low against the US dollar late last month. The dinar then partly recovered after Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait said they would soon announce an assistance programme to support the country’s fiscal stability and economic reforms.