S&P Affirms Saudi Arabia’s A-/A-2 Credit Rating

S&P Global Ratings has affirmed Saudi Arabia’s A-/A-2 credit rating with a stable outlook. The ratings agency credited a rise in oil prices, a wide-reaching vaccination rollout, and eased OPEC production quotas for the Kingdom’s expected rebound in economic growth between 2021 and 2024. S&P Global Ratings further expects Saudi Arabia’s deficit dropping from 11.2 percent to 4.3 percent from 2020 to 2021, a 6.9 percent decrease, while averaging 5.7 percent each year until 2024. Meanwhile, real GDP growth is expected to average 2.4 percent during the same period after shrinking 4.1 percent in 2020.