Saudi Arabia's economy grows by 1.5pc in second quarter

Saudi Arabia's economy grew by 1.5% in the second quarter, year-on-year, the first expansion since the pandemic, fuelled by a 10.1% growth in the non-oil sector, according to flash government estimates on Monday, Reuters reports.

Seasonally-adjusted real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.1% in the second quarter compared to the first quarter, the General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia said in a statement.

The International Monetary Fund expects Saudi Arabia's economy to grow by 2.4% this year, after the kingdom's economy contracted 4.1% in 2020 due to the twin shock of the pandemic and lower oil prices.

"The annual growth, particularly for real non-oil GDP, reflects the low base from last year with the pandemic," said Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

"The quarterly GDP growth points to a further pick-up in activity, with the oil sector benefiting from higher production." The oil sector contracted 7% year-on-year, but expanded 2.5% on a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis.