Saudi Arabia's economy expanded 7% in Q3 – Reuters

A view shows vehicles driving on a street in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia February 16, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri

DUBAI, Dec 14 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s economy grew 7% in the third quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Tuesday.

The expansion was slightly bigger than official estimates of a 6.8% annual growth during the period. read more

Quarter-on-quarter, the economy of the world’s biggest oil exporter grew by 5.7%, the General Authority for Statistics said.

“Economic growth was mainly driven by oil activities, which increased by 9.3% year-on-year”, while the non-oil economy expanded by 6.3% year on year, it added.

The largest Arab economy was hit hard last year by the twin shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and record-low oil prices, but it rebounded this year amid easing coronavirus restrictions, higher oil prices and production hikes.

Riyadh said on Sunday it expected the economy to grow 2.9% this year and 7.4% next year. read more

Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; Editing by Andrew Heavens

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