Saudi Arabia cuts Q2 budget deficit by 20%

Saudi Arabia has cut the fiscal deficit by 20 percent year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 46.5 billion in Q2 2017, the finance ministry said on Sunday.

Deficit stood at SAR 26 billion in the previous quarter, implying a first-half deficit of SAR 72.7 billion, with SAR 308 billion in revenue and SAR 380.7 billion in expenditures.

Q2 revenue rose by 6 percent YoY to SAR 163.9 billion. Saudi oil revenue reached SAR 101 billion, a rise of 28 percent YoY, while non-oil revenue came in at SAR 62.9 billion.

Total spending for the same period fell 1 percent YoY to SAR 210.4 billion.

The budget deficit was forecast to be SAR 198 billion in 2017, with total revenue at SAR 692 billion and expenditure at SAR 890 billion, Argaam earlier reported.

About 46 percent of H1 expenditure was allocated for key sectors such as education, health and social development, and municipal services, the finance ministry added.

Elsewhere, total public debt increased to SAR 341.4 billion in the first half of the year, compared to SAR 316.5 billion in H1 2016, due to sukuk issues.