Oil exports drove a 329% trade surplus surge in May while non-oil trade contracted

Saudi Arabia’s merchandise trade surplus surged 328.8% y-o-y in May, on the back of rising oil exports and a sharp drop in imports, according to data (pdf) from the General Authority for Statistics, outpacing the 100% increase of April and March’s 219% spike. Merchandise exports rose 3.9% y-o-y, while imports fell 19.5%.

The oil sector carried the export side: Oil exports rose 19.5% y-o-y, pushing the share of oil within total exports to 75.6%, up from 65.7% a year earlier.

The geopolitical context: The surplus still reflects the war premium in energy markets. Brent averaged around USD 107 per barrel in May, off its March peak above USD 120 but still elevated. Our Red Sea rerouting kept oil volumes flowing while the Strait of Hormuz remained disrupted, supporting the trade balance even as non-oil trade contracted on shipping disruptions and higher logistics costs. These numbers predate the current wave of escalations targeting Saudi refineries, airports, and shipping routes.

Non-oil exports, including re-exports, fell 26.1% y-o-y during the month. Re-exports dropped 24.4%, dragged by a 32.4% decline in machinery and electrical equipment re-exports, which made up 46.2% of the total. The ratio of non-oil exports to imports slipped to 33.8%, compared to 36.8% in May 2025.

Machinery and electrical equipment remained the largest non-oil export category, accounting for 22% of the total, though the segment fell 31.6% y-o-y. Plastics, rubber, and their articles followed at 17.6% of non-oil exports, down 28.2% y-o-y.

On the import side, machinery and electrical equipment also held the top position at 26.4% of total imports, down 28.0% y-o-y. Mineral products followed as the second-largest category at 11.9%, rising 65.7% y-o-y — the one major import line to grow during the month.

Who were our top trading partners? China remained Saudi Arabia’s top export destination in May 2026, taking 12.3% of the Kingdom’s merchandise exports, followed by South Korea (9.6%) and the UAE (7.5%). China also led import sources at 22.0%, ahead of the US (10.7%) and Egypt (8.4%).