The recently-released Jadwa Investment report on the Saudi economy found a positive picture developing for the Kingdom, with economic data positive in May with the non-oil PMI index reaching its highest reading since December 2017.
The Kingdom also continued adding to its foreign reserves accounts. SAMA FX reserves rose by $12 billion month-on-month to stand at $517 billion in May, the highest level since January 2017, with a total rise in the last three months by $32.5 billion.
The broad measure of money supply (M3) saw yearly rises of 4.9 percent in May, Jadwa’s report notes, the highest rise since November 2015. Bank deposits rose by 4.8 percent year-on-year in May, as time and saving deposits saw a significant rise by 8.3 percent.
Looking at inflation figures, Jadwa notes that although prices inched up month-on-month by 0.1 percent, prices continued to decline in May by 1.5 percent year-on-year.
Data on Q1 2019 real GDP showed that the economy expanded by 1.7 percent, year-on-year. The oil sector improved by 1 percent, while non-oil GDP rose by 2.1 percent.
More notably, the ‘Construction’ sector posted growth for the first time since Q4 2015, Jadwa finds.
[Click here to read the full report from Jadwa Investment] [Arabic]
