Saudi non-oil exports plunge 22.7pc
Riyadh, October 17, 2012
Saudi Arabia's imports fell 5.9 percent from a year ago in August, the second monthly decline in a row, while non-oil exports plunged 22.7 percent, official data showed on Wednesday.
The trade data is extremely volatile because imports can be skewed by purchases of capital equipment such as airplanes, while a major export category is petrochemicals, for which prices have been fluctuating sharply.
In addition, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which can reduce some business activity, ended in August this year.
The Central Department of Statistics and Information released the following August non-oil foreign trade data:
* Non-oil exports: SR10.775bn (Aug 2012) SR14.336bn (July 2012); SR13.946bn (Aug 2011)
* Imports: SR38.435bn (Aug 2012); SR38.809bn (July 2012); SR40.845bn (Aug 2011)
Non-oil exports account for around 12 percent of the overall exports of Saudi Arabia. The world's largest oil exporter does not release complete trade data. - Reuters
