RIYADH: Manufacturing activities helped push Saudi Arabia’s Industrial Production Index to 105.6 points in April, a 1.1 percent rise compared to the previous month, official data showed.
According to the General Authority for Statistics, manufacturing operations in the Kingdom rose by 2.4 percent month-on-month to reach 119.1 points, due to a surge in chemical product production, which went up by 3.1 percent.
Similarly, a 1.9 percent increase in the production of coke and refined petroleum products also contributed to the growth of the manufacturing sub-index.
Compared to March, Saudi Arabia’s mining and quarrying activities witnessed a marginal rise of 0.1 percent in April to 98.6 points.
The IPI, an economic indicator, reflects relative changes in the volume of industrial output, calculated based on production surveys.
However, Saudi Arabia’s overall IPI decreased by 6.1 percent in April compared to the same month of the previous year.
According to GASTAT, this decline was mainly attributed to the Kingdom’s decision to reduce oil output in line with the agreement made by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+.
In a bid to maintain market stability, Saudi Arabia reduced its oil output by 500,000 barrels per day in April 2023, and this cut has now been extended until December 2024.
The report revealed that mining and quarrying activities decreased by 14.1 percent in April compared to the same month of the previous year, as Saudi Arabia reduced its oil production to 8.9 million barrels per day.
“Given the relative weights of the mining and quarrying activity which reached 61.4 percent, the trend of the industrial production in the mining and quarrying sector dominates the trend in the general IPI,” said GASTAT.
It added: “This was followed by the manufacturing activity, and electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply activities with a relative importance of 35 percent and 2.8 percent respectively, and water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities by 0.69 percent.”
On a positive note, manufacturing activities in the Kingdom rose by 7.7 percent in April compared to the same period of the preceding year.
Similarly, electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply activities recorded an annual increase of 6.5 percent, while the sub-index of water supply, sewerage, and waste management, as well as remediation activities, decreased by 2.8 percent.
GASTAT revealed that the Kingdom’s gross domestic product achieved a growth rate of 1.4 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared to the last three months of 2023.
The authority also revealed that Saudi Arabia’s non-oil activities witnessed a growth rate of 3.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024.
