Saudi Arabia’s economy shrank more slowly in the third quarter of this year as the government relaxed some measures put in place to curb the spread of the Coronavirus but the oil sector continued to weigh on the Kingdom’s overall economic outlook, according to reports.
The economy shrank 4.6% in the third quarter, rebounding slightly from the 7% slump in the previous quarter but marked by declines in both the oil and non-oil sectors, government data seen by Reuters showed.
Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it expects the economy to shrink by 3.7% this year but to swing back to growth of 3.2% next year as it announced its budget projections for 2021.
“This negative growth originated mainly from the contraction in the oil sector by 8.2% and a negative growth rate of 2.1% recorded in the non-oil sector,” the General Authority for Statistics said on Thursday about the third quarter data.
