Saudi Arabia posts SAR 48.9 bln budget deficit in 9M

Saudi Arabia has reported budget deficit of SAR 48.98 billion in the first nine months of 2018, revenues stood at SAR 663.11 billion while expenses reached SAR 712.09 billion, the finance ministry said on Wednesday.

The Kingdom’s public debt rose to SAR 549.52 billion in the first nine months of 2018, compared to SAR 443.25 billion at the end of 2017.

The third-quarter revenue jumped 57 percent year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 223.26 billion. Total expenses stood at SAR 230.55 billion, up 21 percent YoY, so that budget deficit hit SAR 7.29 billion in Q3 2018.

Non-oil revenue reached SAR 69.3 billion in Q3 2018, while oil revenue hit SAR 153.95 billion, an 63 percent surge YoY.

Saudi Arabia reported budget deficit of SAR 41.69 billion in H1 2018, revenues stood at SAR 439.85 billion while expenses reached SAR 481.54 billion.

The 2018 budget estimated revenue at SAR 783 billion and public spending at SAR 978 billion, with a projected deficit of SAR 195 billion.