Saudi Non-Oil Trade Surplus with GCC Falls 55%

Saudi Arabia's non-oil trade surplus with GCC countries fell 55% year on year to SR2.01 billion ($536 million) in May, according to preliminary data from the General Authority for Statistics.

The decline was driven by a 24% drop in non-oil merchandise exports, including re-exports, to SR9.11 billion, which outpaced a 6% decline in imports to SR7.10 billion.

Total non-oil merchandise trade with the GCC consequently fell 17.2% to SR16.22 billion.

The UAE remained Saudi Arabia's largest GCC trading partner, accounting for 73.4% of the Kingdom's non-oil trade with the bloc.