Saudi Arabia has reduced its budget deficit by 60 percent to SR49 billion ($13 billion) in the last nine months.

In a third-quarter budget report, the Ministry of Finance said the reduction was the result of a significant growth in both oil and non-oil revenues.

Total revenues up to the end of September increased by nearly 50 percent to SR663 billion compared to the same period for the previous year.

“The announced Q3 2018 fiscal figures reflect the improved performance of the public finances during this year,” Mohammed Al-Jadaan, minister of finance, said. 

“While clearly assisted by improvements in the oil price internationally, these figures also show the fruits of the successful implementation of many initiatives to develop non-oil revenues and improve spending efficiency.”

Public debt increased from SR443.253 billion at the end of 2017 to SR549.516 billion at the end of the third quarter of this year. 

Jason Tuvey, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, said that the figures reflect both higher oil prices and the impact of government spending on the non-oil sector. 

“The narrowing of the headline budget balance clearly reflects the boost from higher oil prices, but the data provide further evidence that the government has loosened fiscal policy this year which has helped to support stronger growth in the non-oil sector,” Tuvey told Arab News.

“It’s worth noting that the government has significantly underspent its budget for infrastructure so far this year – that could be an area where the authorities try to provide some more stimulus to the economy in 2019.”

From :Arabnews