#SaudiArabia's economy expands 2.5% in Q4 as non-oil sector grows | The National

Saudi Arabia's economy expands 2.5% in Q4 as non-oil sector grows | The National

Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product expanded 2.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020 from the previous three months as the economy continued its recovery from a pandemic-induced slowdown.

The kingdom's non-oil economy expanded 2.4 per cent in the final quarter last year, data from the General Authority for Statistics on Tuesday showed. Saudi Arabia's oil economy grew by 2.6 per cent in the fourth quarter as crude prices rallied amid improved economic conditions.

The non-oil private sector in the Arab world's biggest economy expanded by 3.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter, while the government sector grew by 0.6 per cent during the period.

“There was a solid rebound in economic activity in Q4 and the [kingdom’s] investment programme supports the growth outlook going forward,” Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, said. “The fact that we will have substantially higher oil revenue this year is positive for confidence.”

Saudi Arabia’s GDP, however, contracted 3.9 per cent in the fourth quarter on an annual basis. The country’s oil sector shrank by 8.5 per cent, while its non-oil sector contracted by 0.8 per cent from the same period in 2019.