Saudi economic growth slows amid Iran war’s impact on oil

Saudi Arabia’s quarterly economic growth slowed to its weakest pace since mid-2024, as the kingdom deals with the impact of the Iran war on oil.

Gross domestic product grew 2.8% year-on-year in the three months through March, according to preliminary data from the General Authority for Statistics – down from 5% in the previous quarter.

The oil sector’s growth eased sharply to 2.3% from 10.8%.

Non-oil activity also slowed to 2.8% from 4.3% in the prior quarter, Bloomberg reports.

“The playbook that the Saudi authorities deployed at the beginning of the crisis allowed them to be more resilient,” said Jihad Azour, the International Monetary Fund’s Middle East and Central Asia director, though the IMF has trimmed its 2025 growth forecast to 3.1%.