SAUDI ARABIAN MARKET
Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments
• Real estate prices rose 0.5 percent in Q3 compared to the same quarter last year, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GAStat). Residential real estate prices increased (+2.1 percent) amid a surge in mortgage lending. Agricultural real estate prices saw a marginal increase (+0.3 percent) while commercial real estate prices declined (-2.5 percent) as private sector business recovers from the impact of lockdowns in Q2.
• Saudi Arabia’s exports were down 25 percent in August compared to last year as oil exports, down 34 percent, remain low due to weak demand and OPEC+ output cuts. Non-oil exports increased by 5.7 percent. While the largest categories of non-oil exports (plastics and chemicals) declined, an increase in base and precious metal exports drove Saudi non-oil exports to the highest level in eight months.
• The U.S. was Saudi Arabia’s second largest source of imports during August, though imports dropped 56 percent YoY to reach SAR4.5 billion ($1.2 billion). Saudi exports to the U.S. declined 28 percent, reaching SAR2.6 billion ($700 million) during August. Despite the decline in oil deliveries to North America during August, the U.S. counted as Saudi Arabia’s sixth biggest export destination.
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