Saudi Arabia has lowered its growth forecast and expects to post a budget deficit this year rather than an earlier projected surplus, a preliminary budget statement showed on Saturday.

The largest Arab economy expects real gross domestic product to grow by 0.03% this year, the document released by the ministry of finance showed, compared with a previous forecast for growth of 3.1%.

The document projected a budget deficit of 2% of GDP, compared with an earlier projection for a 0.4% surplus.

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    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    CAIRO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has lowered its growth forecast and expects to post a budget deficit this year rather than an earlier projected surplus, a preliminary budget statement showed on Saturday.

    The largest Arab economy expects real gross domestic product to grow by 0.03% this year, the document released by the ministry of finance showed, compared with a previous forecast for growth of 3.1%.

    Total revenue is now expected to be 1.180 trillion riyals ($314.64 billion) and government spending is forecast to be 1.262 trillion riyals.

    Oil prices remain below last year’s average of $100 a barrel.

    It said “limited budget deficits” would continue in the medium term due to expansionary spending policies and conservative revenue estimates.

    Saudi Arabia’s economy grew 8.7% last year on the back of high oil prices, allowing it to record its first budget surplus in almost a decade


    The original article contains 254 words, the summary contains 146 words. Saved 43%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!