Recently-released Jadwa Investment monthly chartbook data on the Saudi economy for July showed “a mixed picture in economic activity,” the Riyadh-based investment firm said, noting that data on point-of-sale transactions and ATM withdrawals showed a notable slowdown in July, while the non-oil PMI rose to a 2016 high.
The Saudi unemployment rate rose slightly to 11.6 percent during the first half of 2016. Meanwhile, net employment in the whole economy rose by 201.5 thousand, of which a fraction – 13.7 percent – went to Saudis.
Indicators of Consumer Spending.
Inflation continued to slow in July, reaching 3.8 percent, the bank noted.
Addressing the slowdown in trading on Saudi Arabia’s TASI this summer, Jadwa said this has further pushed down the price-to-earnings but that the bank “expect TASI activity to pick up in mid-September, after the Eid al-Adha break.”
Jadwa also noted that the net monthly change to government accounts came out negative in July, mainly due to a net withdrawal from government current deposits. “That said, net withdrawals in July were significantly lower than earlier in the year. Meanwhile, banks continued to increase their holdings of government bonds, reflecting further domestic borrowing by the government,” Jadwa said.
Click here to read the full report as a .PDF from Jadwa Investment.
