RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s merchandise trade surplus surged to SR26.03 billion ($6.91 billion) in May, driven by higher oil exports and a sharp decline in imports, preliminary government data showed.
The surplus widened 328.8 percent from a year earlier as merchandise exports rose 3.9 percent year on year to SR93.78 billion, while imports fell 19.5 percent to SR67.75 billion, according to the General Authority for Statistics.
The increase reflected a recovery in oil exports, which climbed 19.5 percent from May 2025 and accounted for 75.6 percent of total exports, up from 65.7 percent a year earlier.
The figures point to a recovery in Saudi Arabia’s merchandise trade balance after oil exports rebounded, offsetting weakness in non-oil trade. The Kingdom has increasingly relied on expanding non-oil industries and exports to reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons, a key objective of its Vision 2030 economic transformation strategy.
In its latest report, GASTAT stated: “The ratio of non-oil exports (including re-exports) to imports decreased in May 2026, reaching 33.8 percent compared with 36.8 percent in May 2025. This decrease was driven by a 26.1 percent decrease in non-oil exports, alongside a 19.5 percent decrease in imports over the same period.”
