Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s oil revenues amounted to SR147 billion ($39 billion) in the third quarter of 2023, the Ministry of Finance said in its quarterly budget performance report on Wednesday.
Non-oil revenues, according to the ministry, surged by 53 percent on an annual basis to reach SR111.5 billion.
The Kingdom recorded a budget deficit for the fourth consecutive quarter totaling SR35.77 billion as expenses during the quarter ending on Sept. 30 amounted to SR294.3 billion.
The total revenues were recorded at SR258 billion, the report showed.
Public debt during the nine months of the fiscal year reached SR994.26 billion, with domestic debt at SR628.637 billion and external debt at SR365.623 billion.
Observers may recall that the Kingdom issued a preliminary budget statement last month lowering its growth forecast for 2023.
It showed that the largest Arab economy expects real gross domestic product to grow by 0.03 percent this year compared with a previous forecast for growth of 3.1 percent.
Saudi Arabia will continue its fiscal and structural reforms as the Kingdom is steadily embarking on its economic diversification journey in line with the goals outlined in Vision 2030, Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan had said.
The document also projected the government would post a budget deficit of 1.9 percent of the gross domestic project in 2024, 1.6 percent of GDP in 2025, and 2.3 percent of GDP in 2026. It said “limited budget deficits” would continue in the medium term.
