Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments
- Saudi Arabia’s non-oil sector registered its first growth since February per Riyad Bank’s Purchasing Managers’ Index, as the Kingdom’s overall score saw a monthly rise of 0.4 points. The economic tracker for August came in at 54.8 points – up from 54.4 points in July – in a sign that business activity in Saudi Arabia is continuing to expand.
- Saudi Arabia’s point-of-sale (POS) transactions registered a weekly increase of 20.4 percent between Aug. 25 and 31, with the telecommunication sector leading the growth. SAMA recorded SAR14 billion ($3.7 billion) in transactions over the seven-day period, with the telecoms industry posting the highest sectoral increase at 42 percent to reach SAR131.9 million ($35.2 billion).
- Remittances of money by expatriates have recorded the highest levels in two years, reaching SAR12.91 billion ($3.4 billion) in July 2024. This marked an increase of 21.47 percent, amounting to SAR2.28 billion ($608 million), compared to SAR10.63 billion ($2.8 billion) last year.
