With Saudi Arabia’s success against the pandemic becoming the envy of countries around the world, the Kingdom’s economy is roaring back to life on the back of high oil prices and consumer confidence.
According to a report by AlixPartners, Saudi Arabia’s consumers have been increasing their spending over the past months more than the global average, while 20% of Saudis intend to spend more on an ongoing basis post-pandemic.
85% of the surveyed Saudi consumers showed optimism about the vaccination program, compared to 71% globally.
The report also found that Saudi consumers have been also reducing spending cuts taken during the pandemic at a pace faster than the global average, according to Mubasher.info, which carried the report. AlixPartners has surveyed over 7,000 consumers in China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, UK, and US.
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector notched a 14th month of consecutive growth in October as output expanded at the fastest rate since December 2017, signaling the sector’s continued strengthening, Reuters reported earlier this month.
Oil prices are still the main driver of Saudi government revenues and the Saudi economy, but the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 social and economic reforms are pushing diversification goals forward. As Bloomberg notes, if oil prices and Saudi output stay at current levels, “the kingdom’s gross oil revenues will top $300 billion in 2022, according to Bloomberg News estimates – putting Riyadh on track to enjoy one of its best ever years. It could be even better. The International Energy Agency believes Saudi oil production may average 10.7 million barrels a day in 2022, the highest ever annual average.”
