Economic updates
Our in-depth, independent reports cover the macroeconomic environment, the Saudi government’s annual budget, and Saudi Arabia’s monetary and financial developments, labor market, and inflation.
The Saudi Economy in 2017
Macroeconomic reportWe expect the Saudi economy to continue slowing in 2017, dragged down by negative growth in the oil sector. Non-oil sector growth should rebound but remain subdued. As oil prices rebound, the current account deficit will shrink considerably, while the fiscal deficit will fall to single digits. We believe the government will continue to comply with targets specified in the Fiscal Balance Program (FBP 2020), allowing for a smooth adjustment in the fiscal budget while cushioning the impact on growth in the non-oil private sector.
Q2 real GDP trends down, forecast revised
The General Authority for Statistics (GAS) has released GDP data for the second quarter this year showing a real economic growth of 1.4 percent compared with 4.9 percent in the second quarter of 2015 and 1.5 percent in the first quarter of this year. We expect economic performance to remain on the same trajectory for the remainder of the year.