Saudi economy slows down for third quarter

Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s economy slowed down for the third quarter in a row as well as slowed down growth in its non-oil sector.

The Kingdom’s economy contracted by 1.8 per cent year on year in the first quarter of this year.

Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell for the third quarter in a row.

“This decrease was primarily driven by a 10.6 per cent decline in oil activities,” the General Authority for Statistics said.

In an effort to push up global oil prices, the Kingdom implemented oil output cuts, which caused economic contraction of 0.8 per cent over 2023; however, the government says the non-oil economy rose to 50 per cent of GDP for the first time.

Non-oil growth was at 2.8 per cent down from 5.3 per cent a year before, when the economy was reviving post pandemic.

Saudi finance minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan told a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh this week that Saudi Arabia will have to adjust its Saudi Vision 2030 plan to transform its economy as needed, scaling back some projects and accelerating others.