Weekly Market Brief – 8/5/2022

Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments

• Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector economy remained firmly in growth territory in July, according to S&P Global’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). Saudi PMI was 56.3 points in July as new business continued to expand. Export sales continued to improve and employment levels rose at the fastest pace since September 2019. Input cost inflation continued to weigh on business outlook.

 

• Remittances of expatriates in Saudi Arabia rose 17 percent MoM in June, reaching SAR13.2 billion ($3.5 billion). Saudi citizens’ remittances abroad recorded a 5 percent increase to reach SAR6.8 billion ($1.8 billion), according to data from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA).

 

• Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia rose 19 percent YoY in June to reach SAR46 billion ($12.3 billion). Approximately 33 percent of point-of-sale (POS) transactions were made using mobile devices while 61 percent were made with cards. Only 6 percent of POS transactions in the Kingdom were done using non-digital payment methods, according to SAMA data.