Saudi Budget Gap Falls Below 10% in 2017, Finance Ministry Says - Bloomberg

Saudi Budget Gap Falls Below 10% in 2017, Finance Ministry Says - Bloomberg:

"Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit narrowed in 2017 to below 10 percent of economic output for the first time since the collapse in oil prices battered public finances, as the kingdom prepared to unveil what is expected to be an expansionary budget for next year.


The shortfall dropped to 8.9 percent of gross domestic product from almost 13 percent in 2016, the official Saudi Press Agency reported late on Monday, citing Finance Ministry official Yarub al-Thunyan. The decline is in line with the median estimate of 11 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

A lower deficit would be a welcome boost for the kingdom as it grapples with lower oil revenue after prices plummeted in 2014, causing the budget deficit to surge to about 15 percent of GDP the following year. In response, authorities cut spending and introduced austerity measures including cuts to generous subsidies -- policies that helped reduce the deficit but led to the worst economic slowdown since the global financial crisis. 

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