Saudi Arabia Q1 GDP Shrinks Slightly Less than Anticipated

Saudi Arabia’s GDP shrank by 1.7% yoy in Q1 of 2024, compared with flash data of a 1.8% fall, following a 4.3% drop in the prior period.

It was the third straight quarter of yearly economic contraction, but the slowest pace in the sequence as a decline in oil activities eased (-11.2% vs -16.2% in Q4).

At the same time, non-oil activities grew for the third quarter (3.4% vs 4.2%).

By sector, output related to crude petroleum & natural gas (-13.2% vs -16.2%) and petroleum refining (-1.2% vs -16.6%) dropped at weaker rates.

On the expenditure side, exports fell the least in three quarters (-6.6% vs -10.7%) while imports rose much slower (1.8% vs 5.8%).

Household spending growth slowed (2.0% vs 4.9%) amid faster rises in government consumption (6.3% vs 4.5%) and fixed investment (4.7% vs 2.8%).

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the economy grew by 1.4%, a reversal from a 0.6% decline in Q4.

The economy contracted 0.8% in 2023, shifting from a 7.5% growth in the previous year.