The Kingdom Saudi Arabia saw a rebound in economic activities in the third quarter. It is reported that the Q3 economy surged 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis compared to a 4.9 slump in Q2. The reports are produced by the Kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics.
However, the Kingdom’s economy slumped 4.2 percent compared to the previous year. The economic condition of the Kingdom has suffered due to shutdown of businesses and slump in oil production owing to the pandemic which has severely impacted global economies.
Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, told the media, “A sequential pickup in economic activity was expected in the third quarter with the easing of lockdown measures and given the pent-up demand. However, the pace of recovery would have been dampened by the increase in the VAT rate.”
It is reported that the Kingdom increased its VAT to 15 percent this year due to economic turndown and low oil prices. The Middle Eastern stock market made profits this week for a second consecutive time. That said, the Kingdom’s and Abu Dhabi’s stock market surged 0.5 percent while Dubai’s main measure surged 2 percent. Egypt’s stock market has also surged 2.2 percent.
Earlier, Credit ratings agency Moody predicted that the Kingdom’s low debt and strong balance sheet are vital to stay afloat in the global market. The reports also predicted a 4.5 percent GDP downturn by the end of the year.
The global economies see signs of relief as global drugmaker Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine has achieved 90 percent success during trials.