Saudi trade surplus narrows 25% to $3.8 billion in July

Summary

• Saudi Arabia's July merchandise trade surplus fell 25 percent year-on-year to SR14.36 billion, or $3.83 billion.
• Exports dropped 17.2 percent while imports fell 15.4 percent, a slower decline that squeezed the gap.
• Oil now accounts for 71 percent of exports, up from 67.4 percent a year earlier.

The latest

Saudi Arabia's merchandise trade surplus narrowed to SR14.36 billion ($3.83 billion) in July 2026, a 25 percent drop from the same month last year, according to figures published by the General Authority for Statistics. Exports fell faster than imports, and the kingdom's non-oil export base contracted sharply. Oil's share of the export basket rose to 71 percent.

Details

• The headline number: GASTAT put the July 2026 merchandise surplus at SR14.36 billion, equivalent to $3.83 billion. That is 25 percent below the surplus recorded in July 2025, the sharpest squeeze coming from the export side of the ledger rather than from any surge in purchases abroad.
• Exports: Total exports fell 17.2 percent year-on-year to SR84.38 billion, according to the statistics authority. The decline outpaced the drop on the import side, which is the arithmetic behind the narrower surplus: a country selling less while buying only slightly less keeps a thinner margin.
• Imports: Total imports fell 15.4 percent to SR70.02 billion over the same period. Because imports contracted more slowly than exports, the gap between the two lines compressed rather than widened, leaving the surplus at its reduced July level.
• Oil's share: Oil exports rose as a proportion of the total to 71.0 percent, up from 67.4 percent in July 2025, per GASTAT. The shift is relative rather than absolute: crude's weight in the basket grew because non-oil shipments fell away faster.
• Non-oil decline: Non-oil exports including re-exports dropped 26.2 percent against July 2025. Stripping out re-exports, national non-oil exports fell 14.8 percent, a materially smaller decline that points to re-export flows as the heaviest drag on the non-oil column.
• Shipping routes: Arab News reported that the figures reflect wider changes in Saudi trade routing, including heavier use of Red Sea terminals after disruption affecting the Strait of Hormuz during the regional conflict. The report did not quantify the volume rerouted.
• What GASTAT did not say: The published data did not break out destination markets, product categories behind the non-oil fall, or the pricing effect of crude on export value. No forecast for August or the third quarter accompanied the release.

Background

Non-oil exports are the benchmark Saudi officials use to track diversification away from crude. A rising oil share of total exports, as recorded in July, runs against that direction of travel even when it results from weaker non-oil sales rather than higher oil volumes.

Between the lines

The two non-oil figures tell different stories. National non-oil exports fell 14.8 percent, roughly in line with the overall export drop, while the broader measure including re-exports fell 26.2 percent. That divergence suggests goods passing through the kingdom for onward shipment thinned out faster than domestically produced non-oil output — consistent with the rerouting of regional cargo away from Hormuz that Arab News cited.

What's next

GASTAT publishes monthly merchandise trade data, making the August release the next test of whether the surplus stabilizes. Watch whether re-export volumes recover and whether oil's share of total exports retreats below 71 percent.

Source: Arab News, citing Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT)