Saudi Arabia’s economy suffered its biggest contraction since 2020 in the Q3 after the kingdom cut oil production to boost prices.
GDP shrunk 4.5% in the third quarter compared to a year earlier, driven by a 17% drop in the oil economy, according to preliminary data by the General Authority of Statistics.
Growth in the non-oil economy also slowed.
This is the largest decline in three years since the coronavirus pandemic and the first drop in production since the start of 2021.
In July, the world’s largest oil exporter unilaterally cut oil production to 9 million barrels per day.
The kingdom is now producing almost 1 million barrels a day less than its average over the past decade and is likely to remain at its current production level until at least the end of this year.