Saudi Arabia’s industrial production index up 1%, says report

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Saudi Arabia’s Industrial Production Index edged up 1% in February, compared to the previous month, driven by a rise in manufacturing activities, according to the General Authority for Statistics.

The kingdom’s sub-index of manufacturing activity, GASTAT indicated a 1.2% month-on-month increase in the second month of the year.

The uptick in manufacturing activities was supported by a rise in the production of coke and refined petroleum products, which increased by 0.4%, it stated.

The sub-index for mining and quarrying activity marginally increased by 0.6% m-o-m in February.

Also electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply increased by 7.6% during the same period compared to January, it stated.

The GASTAT report revealed that the sub-index for water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities also rose by 2.1% in February.

According to GASTAT, IPI is an economic indicator reflecting relative changes in the volume of industrial output, calculated based on the production survey.

However, Saudi Arabia’s IPI decreased by 7.7% in February compared to the same month of the previous year, driven by a drop in mining and quarrying activity.

The decline in mining and quarrying activities was a result of the kKingdom’s decision to decrease crude output, in alignment with an agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (Opec+).

In April 2023, Saudi Arabia decided to reduce oil output by 500,000 bpd, which is now extended until the end of December 2024.

On a positive note, manufacturing activities in the Kingdom rose by 2.1% in February compared to the same period of the previous year, driven by an increase in the production of non-metallic products, it added.