Weekly Market Brief – 12/31/2021

Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments

• Saudi Arabia’s trade surplus rose to SAR59.9 billion ($16 billion) in October, the highest level since 2018. Saudi oil exports were the highest since October 2018, totaling SAR82.4 billion ($22 billion), and non-oil exports rose to the second highest level on record, totaling SAR20 billion ($5.3 billion). Saudi exports rose 12 percent MoM (+90 percent YoY) while imports fell 2.4 percent MoM (+7.6 percent YoY) during the month.

• U.S.-Saudi trade totaled SAR9.1 billion ($2.4 billion) in October, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GAStat). Saudi exports to the U.S. declined 5.4 percent MoM (+222 percent YoY) to reach SAR4.8 billion ($1.3 billion). Imports of U.S. goods meanwhile rose 3.9 percent MoM (+2.1 percent YoY) to reach SAR4.3 billion ($1.2 billion). Top U.S. non-oil imports from Saudi were chemical products, base metals, and plastics & rubbers.

• Remittances from Saudi Arabia edged up by 0.8 percent YoY to SAR13 billion ($3.5 billion) in November. However, remittances were down 3.7 percent MoM and hit the lowest level since July 2021.