Non-oil private sector growth to accelerate in 2019: Jadwa

Saudi Arabia's economy is expected to expand by 2 percent year-on-year (YoY) in 2019, with projected non-oil private sector GDP growth set to rise by 1.8 percent compared to an estimated growth of 1.1 percent last year, Jadwa Investment said in a recent report.    

However, the oil sector GDP growth for this year is expected to fall to 2.3 percent from forecasted 3.2 percent in 2018. Similarly, the non-oil government growth will slow down to 1.4 percent in 2019 from 2.2 percent last year, it noted.

The Kingdom's economy expanded by 2.5 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the third quarter of 2018 with growth seen across all macro sectors.

The oil sector improved by 3.7 percent, while non-oil GDP showed better growth, at 2 percent. Within the non-oil sector, non-oil private sector GDP was up 2 percent and the government sector's GDP rose significantly, by 2.1 percent.

According to the consultancy, Saudi GDP per capita is expected to rise to $25,367 in 2019 compared to the estimated $24,046 in 2018.

Inflation will fall to 1.1 percent this year, while Brent crude price will average $75 per barrel, it noted.