Arab News, Monday, May 08, 2023 | Shawwal 18, 1444
Saudi economy grew 3.9% in Q1 led by non-oil activities: GASTAT
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia’s real
gross domestic product grew by 3.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of
2023 as non-oil activities picked up pace, data issued by the General Authority
for Statistics showed.
Between January and March this year, the Kingdom’s
activities in the non-oil sector, government services, and oil industry
increased by 5.8 percent, 4.9 percent, and 1.3 percent, respectively.
The positive trend also continued in April. The
latest Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index report, formerly known
as the S&P Global Saudi Arabia PMI, revealed that the Kingdom’s PMI went up to
59.6 in April from 58.7 in March. This is fractionally lower than the eight-year
peak in February when the metric hit 59.8.
However, the GASTAT report further revealed that
the seasonally adjusted real GDP decreased by 1.3 percent in the first quarter
of 2023 compared to the previous quarter.
This drop was due to a decline in oil activities
by 4.8 percent, while the non-oil sector and government services activities grew
by 1.5 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
The real GDP in the first quarter also slipped
compared to the annual 5.4 percent growth registered between October and
December of 2022.
During the fourth quarter of last year, non-oil
and oil activities picked up 6.2 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively.
Government services activities inched up by 1.8
percent in the fourth quarter of the last year, compared to the same quarter in
2021.
Overall, Saudi Arabia’s economy advanced by 8.7
percent in 2022 as opposed to 3.2 percent in 2021, fueled by a 15.4 percent
surge in oil activities.
Last month, the International Monetary Fund raised
its expectations for the Kingdom’s growth this year by 0.5 percent to 3.1
percent, compared to 2.6 percent in January.
The fund, however, downgraded its projection for
the Kingdom by about 0.3 percent to 3.1 percent for 2024, down from 3.4 percent
in January.
In October, the IMF stated that Saudi Arabia would
remain the fastest-expanding economy among the G20 countries, despite rising
inflation and soaring interest rates.
On the global level, the fund expects economic
growth to fall to 2.8 percent in 2023, down from 3.4 percent in 2022, due to the
US Federal Reserve’s tightening monetary policy.