{"id":109347,"date":"2026-05-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/?p=109347"},"modified":"2026-05-31T03:46:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T03:46:36","slug":"trade-surplus-climbs-on-the-back-of-oil-exports-in-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2026\/05\/31\/trade-surplus-climbs-on-the-back-of-oil-exports-in-march\/","title":{"rendered":"Trade surplus climbs on the back of oil exports in March"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saudi Arabia\u2019s<\/strong> merchandise trade surplus surged by 218.9% in March<\/strong>, on the back of a rise in oil exports and a drop in overall imports, according to data (pdf)<\/a> from the General Authority for Statistics. Merchandise exports rose by 21.5%, while imports declined by 24.8% to SAR 58 bn.<\/p>\n

The jump in the trade surplus was directly influenced by the geopolitical risk premium<\/strong>, which began rippling across the energy market in March. The escalating US-Iran war and the fears of a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz caused Brent crude to surge above USD 120 a barrel during the month. The rising prices alongside Saudi\u2019s reliance on the Red Sea ports as a solution to sustain oil exports supported its trade balance and offset softer activity in non-oil exports. <\/p>\n

The oil sector displayed a robust performance:<\/strong> Oil exports saw a significant increase of 37.4%, pushing the share of oil exports within the total export portfolio to 80%, up from 71% a year earlier.<\/p>\n

Non-oil exports, including re-exports, dipped by 17.3% y-o-y during the month<\/strong>. Meanwhile, re-exports rose marginally by 2.5%, which was driven by a 51.1% increase in machinery and electrical equipment re-exports. The ratio of non-oil exports to imports improved to 39.3%, compared to 35.8% in March 2025. <\/p>\n

Machinery and electrical equipment were the main contributors to non-oil exports during the period<\/strong>, accounting for 27.4% of the total and marking a strong 46.2% y-o-y increase. Chemical products followed, representing 20.1% of non-oil exports and declining by 39.1% y-o-y compared to last year. <\/p>\n

On the import side, machinery and electrical equipment also held the top position<\/strong>, making up 30.4% of total imports and decreasing by 11.9% y-o-y compared to March 2025. Chemical products and their allied industries followed as the second most imported category at 9.9%, although this sector saw an 18.5% decline during the same period.<\/p>\n

Who were our top trading partners?<\/strong> China remained Saudi Arabia\u2019s top export destination in March 2026, receiving 14.1% of the Kingdom\u2019s merchandise exports, followed by India (13.7%) and Japan (9.5%). The Asian country also led import sources at 26.7%, ahead of the US (8.4%) and the UAE (7.1%).<\/p>\n

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links<\/strong> to our background and outside sources.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Merchandise trade surplus surged by 218.9%, with oil exports rising by 37.4%<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":109348,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2857],"tags":[10,309],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-109347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trade","tag-enterpriseam-ksa","tag-trade","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"86fc7830-c1b0-41d9-9977-ecaecb5aadc3","order":"7","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2025\/6\/1189.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"Trade surplus surges in March due to rising oil exports and declining imports","related_issue":[109336],"teaser":"Merchandise trade surplus surged by 218.9%, with oil exports rising by 37.4%"},"yoast_head":"\nTrade surplus climbs on the back of oil exports in March - 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