What:
The Ministry of Finance revealed the expenditure figures in the 2023 budget, amounting to SAR 1.29 trillion, This is against total revenues of SAR 1.21 trillion, with oil revenues reaching nearly SAR 754.6 billion.
So What:
The budget recorded a deficit “for the fifth consecutive quarter” during the last quarter of the previous year, amounting to nearly SAR 37 billion (about USD 10 billion).
This marks a 3.5% increase quarterly but is 19% less than the deficit recorded in the same period of 2022.
On the other hand, the government indicated that it financed the deficit by obtaining 60 billion riyals in external debt, and about SAR 20.9 billion from domestic debts.
Some Context:
The budget revenues of the “largest economy in the Arab world” were affected by the decline in oil revenues.
This is attributed to the Kingdom’s continued voluntary reduction of its oil production to maintain energy market stability.
Now What:
The inflation rate in Saudi Arabia rose to 1.6% YoY in January. This is a “slight increase” from the previous month, due to a 9.3% increase in housing rents, which is attributed to the rising prices of villa rents by 8.2%, according to the General Authority for Statistics.
