Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments
- Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector saw the sharpest business activity increase in three months, according IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). April PMI rose to 55.2 points from 53.3 points in March where the 50-point mark separates growth from contraction. Employment levels rose while strengthening demand in Asia drove a pickup in exports.
- The Saudi economy contracted 3.3 percent YoY in Q1, according to flash estimates from the General Authority for Statistics (GAStat). Over the same period, the non-oil economy grew 3.3 percent. On a quarterly basis, GDP slipped 0.1 percent in Q1 compared to Q4 2020 following Saudi Arabia’s voluntary oil supply cuts, which led to a -5.1 percent drop in oil GDP.
- Saudi government revenue totaled SAR205 billion ($55 billion) in Q1 2021, rising 7 percent YoY. Oil revenue declined 9 percent YoY while non-oil revenue rose 39 percent YoY, primarily due to higher tax revenue from the value-added tax (VAT) increase.
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