Arábia Saudita Balança Comercial

Saudi Arabia’s trade surplus slumped to SAR 15.3 billion in December 2024, down from SAR 34.8 billion in the same month last year, due to a surge in imports. Exports dropped by 2.8% year-on-year to SAR 94.3 billion, mainly due to a 10.0% decline in oil exports, which accounted for 68.8% of total exports. China remained the top destination for Saudi exports, representing 13.0% of the total, followed by South Korea (10.4%) and Japan (10.3%). Meanwhile, imports soared by 27.1% to an eight-year high of SAR 79.0 billion, boosted by a jump in purchases of machinery, electrical equipment & parts (44.0%), which constituted 25.5% of total imports, and transportation equipment & parts (8.4%), which represented 14.8% of total imports. Among the major suppliers, China also held the largest share of imports at 23.5%, followed by the US (9.1%) and the UAE (5.4%). For the full year, the trade surplus narrowed sharply to SAR 275 billion from SAR 424 billion in 2023.