Environment

Saudi Arabia’s economy contracts again, dragged by oil cuts

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Xavierarnau | E+ | Getty Images

Saudi Arabia’s fourth-quarter real GDP fell 3.7% year-on-year, according to flash estimates published by the General Authority for Statistics on Wednesday.

That’s a smaller drop than the 4.4% year-on-year slide in the third quarter.

The drop was attributed to a 16.4% decline in oil activities, while non-oil activities and government activities expanded by 4.3% and 3.1%, respectively, year-on-year.

For the full year, the kingdom’s economy shrank 0.9%, according to government data.

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