Economic updates
Our in-depth, independent reports cover the macroeconomic environment, the Saudi government’s annual budget, and Saudi Arabia’s monetary and financial developments, labor market, and inflation.
Inflation Update - September 2023: (Easing price pressures)
Inflation reportThe General Authority for Statistics’ (GaStat) inflation release for August shows that consumer prices rose by just 2 percent year-on-year, representing the weakest price rise in 18 months.
Q2 2023 GDP Update: (Non-oil GDP growth accelerates in Q2-23)
Macroeconomic report‘Non-oil Activities’ real GDP growth accelerated to 6.1 percent, year-on-year, in Q2-23, pushing up the average for the past four quarters to 5.9 percent. Meanwhile, ‘Government Activities’, which is separate, eased back to 2.3 percent growth following a spike in Q1-23. Overall GDP growth was weighed down by cuts to oil production, and fell to 1.2 percent from 3.8 percent in Q1.
A Closer Look at Saudi Arabia’s Balance of Payments
Special reportSaudi Arabia’s current account returned another surplus in Q1-23, albeit one less than half the size of the Q1-22 surplus. A 15 percent year-on-year downturn in oil earnings combined with a 24 percent surge in import spending saw the surplus decline to $17.7 billion, down from almost $40 billion a year earlier.
