Saudi GDP grows 1.2% in second quarter

Reuters/Faisal Al Nasser

Saudi Arabia’s GDP grew 1.2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of this year, while oil activities decreased by 4.3 percent, the government said on August 7. 

Saudi Arabia’s oil production cuts are set to continue to the end of the year. The kingdom’s GDP at current prices was valued at 970 billion Saudi riyals ($259 billion). 

Oil and gas accounted for 25 percent, then government services at 15.6 percent and retail, restaurants and hotels at 9.7 percent, the General Authority for Statistics said.

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Non-oil activities grew by 6.1 percent. 

The International Monetary Fund said on August 6 that the kingdom’s GDP growth is expected to slow to 1.9 percent for 2023, down from 8.7 percent in 2022. 

Non-oil GDP growth is forecast at 4.9 percent this year and 4.4 percent in 2024. 

Saudi Arabia said earlier this week it will extend a voluntary oil production cut of one million barrels per day until the end of 2023, in an effort to support prices and help fund its $1.25 trillion worth of giga projects. The cuts took effect in July.