SAUDI ARABIAN MARKET
Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments
• Saudi Arabia’s oil exports fell 39 percent YoY while non-oil exports declined 9.3 percent YoY during September. Compared to August, non-oil exports in September increased by 2.5 percent. Chemical product exports rose 19 percent MoM while plastics rose 4 percent MoM with both segments totaling SAR5.5 billion ($1.5 billion) each. Saudi exports of base metals and articles of base metals continue to outpace last year’s levels in 2020, rising 9 percent YoY in September to reach SAR1.5 billion ($389 million).
• New residential mortgage contracts rose 39 percent in value YoY during October, reaching SAR12.1 billion ($3.2 billion) as Saudi Arabia’s housing market carries strong momentum into Q4. Houses accounted for 81 percent of new mortgages while apartments accounted for 13 percent. The number of new residential mortgage contracts was up 22 percent over the same period.
• Saudi Arabia’s reserve assets declined 0.2 percent in October, totaling SAR1.67 trillion ($447 billion). The Kingdom increased in investments in foreign securities by 2.3 percent while decreasing its holdings of foreign currency by 4.8 percent. U.S. Treasuries account for roughly 29 percent of the government’s reserve assets.
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