Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) inched slightly higher by 0.46 percent in the second quarter of this year, compared to the same quarter last year.

GDP for the second quarter reached 642.78 billion Saudi riyals, up from 639.85 billion Saudi riyals recorded in the same period last year, according to official statistics released on Monday.

The annual growth rate of GDP in key economic activities such as mining and manufacturing dropped by 2.9 percent and 2.3 percent respectively in the second quarter of the year. 

The oil sector saw a year-on-year decrease of 3 percent in the second quarter, while the non-oil sector gained 2.9 percent.

The private sector recorded a 3.4 percent year-on-year growth in the second quarter of 2019, while the government sector was by 1.76 percent.

The third category that showed a decrease in annual growth rate of GDP was electricity, gas, and water declining by 6.3 percent.

Earlier this week, the Saudi government announced the waiver of fees on non-Saudi workers in the industrial sector which covers mining and manufacturing activities for five years, in a move to stimulate the sector and lower the operating costs. Read more here:

(Writing by Nada Al Rifai nada.rifai@refinitiv.com, editing by Seban Scaria)

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