Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit exceeded USD 4 billion (approximately SAR 15.3 billion) in the second quarter of 2024.
This is three times the figures recorded for the deficit during the same period last year, reflecting the impact of high government spending.
Significance
The Ministry of Finance noted that the country’s overall revenues increased by 12% from April to June, reaching approximately SAR 353.6 billion.
Total budget expenditures also jumped by about 15% to SAR 369 billion.
This marks the seventh consecutive deficit quarter.
So what
Oil revenues neared SAR 213 billion, recording an 18% increase over the second quarter of 2023.
Non-oil revenues rose 4%, reaching SAR 140.6 billion.
Some context
Saudi Vision 2030 targets hundreds of billions of dollars in investments to develop new economic sectors.
Additionally, it seeks to provide more sustainable sources of income to reduce the reliance of “the world’s largest oil exporter” on petroleum revenues.
Now what
According to the budget performance report, the deficit reached 27.7 billion riyals by the end of the first six months of this year.
The government expects to rake in SAR 79 billion for the entire year.
It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia raised USD 17 billion from public debt markets this year to cover its financing needs.
Oil giant Aramco and the Public Investment Fund secured billions of dollars through bond issuances.
The country’s total public debt reached approximately 1.15 trillion riyals in the first half, compared to about 1.05 trillion riyals at the end of the previous year.
