The Saudi economy grew 1.66 percent in the first quarter of this year, an improvement that was expected to be close to double the rate achieved in the same period a year ago, according to the data released by the General Authority for Statistics.
According to statistics, the non-oil sector growth in the first quarter was 2.13 percent, in line with the same period last year, accelerating from 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. While the non-oil activity has improved particularly in the private sector, which grew by 2.3 percent.
The IMF forecast that the real growth of non-oil would boost to 2.9 percent in 2019, bringing overall economic growth to 1.9 percent, up from a previous forecast of 1.8 percent.
Saudi Arabia announced its first budget surplus for the first time since 2014, at 27.8 billion riyals ($7.4 billion) in the first quarter of this year. It also registered a growth of 5 percent in foreign investments last year, while the financial market grew by 15 per cent.
Source (Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Edited)
