Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economic activity recovered in the third quarter of the year, rebounding to 3.2% below the pre-virus peak, according to recent analysis conducted from Bloomberg Intelligence.

The recovery closed almost half the drop of 7.6% below the pre-virus peak as the double shock of the pandemic and oil-price decline hit the economy, the report added.

Bloomberg Intelligence expects Saudi Arabia’s economy to contract by 4.1% this year, a projection that is more optimistic than both the International Monetary Fund (-5.4%) and the consensus forecast from a Bloomberg News survey (-4.8%)

The rebound in 3Q was the easy part of the recovery -- a direct response to the relaxation of lockdown measures. Google mobility data has flat lined in 4Q, if this persists then the non-oil economy is set to contract 2.8% this year.

There are factors that could result in a faster recovery. Restrictions on movement have continued to ease, including religious pilgrimage, the report said, noting that mobility data may understate real activity as people find new ways of working remotely. – TradeArabia News Service