The Industrial Production Index (IPI) rose 3.1% y-o-y in April, fueled by growth in mining and quarrying, manufacturing, and waste management activities, according to preliminary data (pdf) by the General Authority for Statistics (Gastat).

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background and outside sources.)

The main drivers: The increase was largely driven by a 7.4% y-o-y rise in manufacturing activity, with the manufacture of petroleum coke and refined petroleum products growing by 22.6% y-o-y, followed by chemical products at 9.1% growth.

Mining and quarrying also saw a modest 0.2% y-o-y uptick, with oil production rising slightly to 9.01 mn bbl / d, up from 8.99 bbl / d in the same period last year.

ALSO- The oil activities index increased 4.3% y-o-y in April, while the non-oil activities index edged up 0.1%.

REMEMBER- Non-oil business activity in the Kingdom grew at its slowest rate in eight months in April, primarily due to a drop in new order growth. The seasonally adjusted headline figure came in at 55.6 in April, dipping from a reading of 58.1 in March.

Utilities showed diverging trends: The sub-index for electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply activity fell 0.2% y-o-y, while the sub-index for water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities climbed 8.8% y-o-y.

Tags: