Weekly Market Brief – 5/26/2023

Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments

• Spending by Saudis fell for the second week in a row in the seven days ending May 20, according to point-of-sale transactions (POS) data released by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). The Kingdom’s aggregate POS transactions shrunk by 7.3 percent last week, totaling SAR10.1 billion ($2.7 billion), driven by a decrease in food and drink spending.

 

• Saudi Arabia’s total merchandise exports rose 4.4 percent in March to SAR106.1 billion ($28.3 billion), compared to SAR101.1 billion ($27 billion) in the previous month, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GAStat).

 

• Saudi Arabia’s M3 money supply surged 4.74 percent since December 2022, according to SAMA. The M3 money supply, which is usually monitored as a broad measure of liquidity in the monetary system, reached SAR2.61 billion ($696 billion) in the week ending May 11, rising from SAR2.5 billion ($667 million) on December 31.