Saudi Arabia’s economy expanded 11.8% in the second quarter of 2022, Bloomberg reports, maintaining the fastest pace of growth since 2011 as oil prices boost the Kingdom’s economy. Beyond oil, however, Saudi Arabia is seeing positive signs in the non-oil economy as the Kingdom continues apace with economic reforms as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
A recently-released update from Jadwa Investment on the Kingdom’s economy saw positive signs for Saudi Arabia in nearly every indicator.
The non-oil PMI in Saudi Arabia rose month-on-month in June, to 57, the highest in 8 months, with stronger output and new order growth. Moreover, cement sales increased by 3.7 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, latest available data for May showed non-oil exports continued rising, by almost 27 percent year-on-year, Jadwa noted.
Consumer spending increased by 13.4 percent year-on-year in June, and by 11.1 percent month-on-month, with both cash withdrawals and POS transactions rising during the month. Looking at POS transactions by sector, Jadwa said, most sectors saw annual rises during the month.
Despite headwinds for the global economy, Saudi Arabia’s stock market rebounded by 5.9 percent month-on-month in July, ranking amongst the best performers when compared to major global and regional indices.
SAMA FX reserves increased by $15 billion month-on-month in June, rising to $466.7 billion. During the month, rises were seen in both bank deposits and foreign securities, which increased by $8.5 billion and $6.8 billion month-on-month, respectively.
[Click here to download and read the full report from Jadwa Investment] [Arabic]
