Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments
- Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate fell to 5.2 percent in February from 5.7 percent the prior month, hitting the lowest level since the value-added tax (VAT) was raised to 15 percent in July 2020. The rise in consumer prices came primarily from food & beverages (+11.2 percent) and transportation (+9.8 percent).
- Saudi Arabia announced international flights will resume on May 17 after a suspension was put in place earlier in the year to slow the spread of COVID-19. The government also lifted a month-long ban on recreational activities including indoor dining.
- Saudi crude exports for February were assessed at 5.76 million barrels per day (bpd), representing a 480k bpd decrease compared to January. Saudi seaborne crude deliveries to China were the lowest since June 2020 (-600k bpd) while deliveries to Japan (+100k) and South Korea (+100k) were higher.
