Weekly Market Brief – 7/29/2022

Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments

• Saudi Arabia’s economy grew 11.8 percent YoY in Q2 2022, according to initial estimates from the General Authority for Statistics (GAStat). Oil activity surged 23 percent while non-oil activity expanded 5.4 percent. Government services rose 2.2 percent over the same period.

• The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) raised key interest rates by 75 basis points following the same move by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Saudi Arabia’s reverse repo rate now stands at 2.5 percent and its repo rate stands at 3 percent. SAMA follows the Fed’s rate moves due to the riyal-dollar currency peg.

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its GDP forecast for the Saudi economy to 3.7 percent growth in 2023, up from its April forecast of 3.6 percent. IMF kept its 2022 forecast unchanged at 7.6 percent.