São Paulo – Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit shrank to SAR 7.36 billion (USD 1.9 billion) in Q2 2018, against SAR 34.4 billion (USD 9.29 billion) in Q1 2018, according to data released this Wednesday (8) by the country’s Ministry of Finance and published by local news outlets.
The country is aiming to balance its budget until 2023 and is making an effort to diversify its economy, which is oil-dependent. According to the Ministry of Finance, the deficit shrank due to the 67% growth in revenues, which reached SAR 273.6 billion (USD 72.9 billion).
The oil sector revenues increased 82% in the period to SAR 184.2 billion (USD 49 billion), reflecting mainly the increase in prices of the commodity. The non-oil sector revenues also grew, increasing 42% to SAR 89.4 billion (USD 23.8 billion).
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
