Saudi Arabia's Economy Booms As Oil Prices Rise

Saudi Arabia reported economic growth of 6.8 percent on the year for the third quarter on the back of higher oil prices. This is the highest quarterly growth for the Kingdom since 2012, Reuters noted in a report.

“This positive growth was due to the high increase in oil activities by 9.0% as a result of rising world demand for crude oil and the increase of Saudi production in 2021,” the Saudi General Authority for Statistics said.

The seasonally adjusted gross domestic product rose by 5.8 percent on a quarterly basis thanks to a 12.9-percent expansion in oil activities, the authority added.

Oil prices have risen substantially since the start of the year thanks to growing demand and tight supply, including oil in storage globally. As a result, oil producers have seen a windfall, with Aramco booking a net profit of $30.4 billion for the third quarter of the year, up by 158 percent from the third quarter of 2020.

Chief executive, Amin Nasser, attributed the strong quarterly result to the rebound in economic activity globally, which caused a surge in energy demand. Nasser noted Saudi Aramco’s position as a low-cost producer as a contributing factor for its third-quarter performance as well.

“Some headwinds still exist for the global economy, partly due to supply chain bottlenecks, but we are optimistic that energy demand will remain healthy for the foreseeable future,” Amin Nasser also said.

Taking full advantage of the state of oil’s fundamentals, last week, the Kingdom raised its official selling price for Arab Light—its flagship grade—for Asian buyers by more than $1 per barrel. As a result, Asian refiners and traders would be paying $2.70 above the Oman/Dubai average for Saudi light crude for December delivery.

The country is also keeping a lid on production, although it is working towards boosting its oil production capacity to 13 million bpd.