The value of Saudi Arabia’s oil exports plunged by 15.8% in the second quarter of 2025, despite the fact that the world’s top crude oil exporter returned to boosting production under the OPEC+ pact.
The fall in the value of oil exports drove a 7.3% decline in total Saudi merchandise exports, the General Authority for Statistics said in its international trade Q2 overview.
With oil export value down from a year ago due to the lower international benchmark prices, it was non-oil exports that shined in the second quarter.
The value of non-oil exports, including re-exports, jumped by 17.8% from a year earlier, while non-oil exports, excluding re-exports, increased by 5.6%, the Saudi statistics office said.
As the value of oil exports fell, the share of overseas oil sales out of total exports decreased to 67.9% in the second quarter, from 74.7% in the same period of 2024.
Saudi Arabia’s economy expanded by nearly 4% in the second quarter from a year earlier, thanks to rising non-oil economic growth and the return of growth in the oil sector as the Kingdom is boosting its crude production.
Real gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 3.9% in the second quarter compared to the same period of 2024, thanks to 4.7% growth in non-oil activities and a 3.8% increase in the oil sector, according to flash estimates by the General Authority for Statistics released at the end of July.
The main driver of growth in real GDP was non-oil activities, which contributed 2.7 percentage points, while oil activities contributed 0.9 percentage points, and government activities and net taxes on products also contributed positively 0.1 and 0.2 pp, respectively.
Saudi Arabia is estimated to need oil prices at about $90 per barrel to balance its budget and avoid deficits.
Due to lower proceeds from oil exports, the main revenue stream for the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia’s deficit has surged above expectations this year.
The Kingdom may have to accelerate borrowings and defer planned investments in its mega initiatives such as the futuristic city of Neom, to trim the swelling deficit, analysts say.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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