Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments
- Saudi Arabia announced that it will resume issuances of new tourism visas and allow the entry of tourists for fully vaccinated individuals without a required quarantine period starting August 1. The tourism visa was launched in September 2019 before being paused in March 2020 due to the pandemic.
- U.S.-Saudi trade totaled SAR9.7 billion ($2.6 billion) in May, growing at the fastest pace so far this year. Saudi imports of U.S. goods rose 13 percent MoM in May to reach SAR4.6 billion ($1.2 billion) while U.S. imports of Saudi goods rose 18 percent to reach SAR5.2 billion ($1.4 billion). Top U.S. exports to Saudi Arabia by value were motor vehicles, aircraft parts, and soybeans while top Saudi exports to the U.S. were crude oil, fertilizers, petrochemicals, and aluminum sheets.
- Saudi Arabia’s trade balance increased 73 percent MoM in May to reach a SAR37.8 billion ($10.1 billion) surplus as oil exports grew substantially. Imports declined 11 percent while exports rose 15 percent MoM. The change was mainly due to higher Saudi exports of mineral products including oil (+16 percent), plastics (+19 percent), chemicals (+16 percent), and base metals (+12 percent).
