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Oil exports continue to dip: The Kingdom’s oil exports dropped 21.8% y-o-y to SAR 59.3 bn in May, its lowest level since May 2021, stretching April’s downward trend, according to preliminary data from the General Authority for Statistics (pdf). Oil’s share of total exports also dropped by 6.5 percentage points y-o-y to 65.6%.
REMEMBER- In May, Opec+ moved forward with accelerated oil output hikes as part of a plan to gradually return 2.2 mn bbl / d to the market over 18 months. The resulting lower oil prices have increased the risk of wider budget deficits and higher public debt for the Kingdom. Trump’s push-and-pull with trade partners that kicked off in April also didn’t do any favors for clarity in global markets.
While the situation was considered manageable in the short-term, Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan said in May that due to low oil prices and global uncertainty, the Kingdom will “take stock” of spending on its large-scale Vision 2030 projects.
NON-OIL BREAKDOWN-
Non-oil merchandise exports fell 1.8% y-o-y to some SAR 18.8 bn in May 2025. Total non-oil exports — including re-exports — rose 6% y-o-y, supported by a 20.5% increase in re-exports value, despite a 14% decrease in merchandise exports during the same period. Meanwhile, imports grew 7.8% to about SAR 80.9 bn, and the surplus of the merchandise trade balance was down 68.4%.
Non-oil exports remained higher than imports, despite the ratio falling to 38.5% in May, compared to 39.1% in the same month a year ago.
Machinery and electrical equipment, making up 23.7% of non-oil exports, nearly doubled, logging a 99.8% y-o-y increase to SAR 7.4 bn. Chemical products also inched up 0.4% y-o-y to SAR 7.1 bn.
Machinery and electrical equipment were also the most sought after by importers, increasing 23% y-o-y to nearly SAR 24 bn, and accounting for 29.7% of total imports. Transportation equipment and parts followed with an 11.4% share, despite recording a 9.2% y-o-y decrease to around SAR 9.2 bn.
China still tops the trade list: The Kingdom’s merchandise exports to China made up 14% of our total exports in May 2025, followed by the UAE (11.2%) and India (8.9%). Meanwhile, Chinese goods accounted for 28.9% of total imports over the same period, followed by the US (7.5%) and the UAE (6.3%).
