Official data showed on Wednesday that the value of Saudi oil exports decreased in June by 55% on an annual basis, to record a decline of 32.6 billion riyals (8.7 billion dollars).
The value of Saudi oil exports fell last May by about $ 12 billion on an annual basis.
The General Authority for Statistics said today, Wednesday, that compared to last May, the total value of exports - including non-oil goods such as chemicals and plastics - increased by 19.1%, to reach 43.5 billion riyals (11.6 billion dollars) last June.
However, according to the authority, the value of Saudi merchandise exports recorded a decrease last June by 43.6% compared to the same month of 2019.
Also on an annual basis, the value of Saudi non-oil exports decreased by 6.1% last June, dropping to about 16.6 billion riyals (4.4 billion dollars).
Saudi Arabia - the world's largest oil exporter - is facing a severe recession this year in light of the Corona virus crisis and declining oil revenues.
On the other hand, the value of Saudi imports increased by 3% to reach about 44.5 billion riyals in June, compared to 43.2 billion riyals in June 2019.
The trade balance surplus declined
The surplus in Saudi Arabia's foreign trade balance (the difference between the value of exports and imports) decreased by 66.8% year-on-year during the first half of 2020.
According to an Anadolu Agency survey, according to data issued by the General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia, the trade balance surplus reached 19.66 billion dollars.
The surplus in the trade balance of Saudi Arabia during the same period of 2019 amounted to 59.26 billion dollars.
The lowest levels of exports
And last Thursday, the numbers of the joint initiative for oil data "Judy" showed a decline in Saudi exports of crude oil during last June to the lowest level in 18 years.
According to Judy data, the Kingdom's exports declined by 17.3% on a monthly basis in June to 4.98 million barrels per day, compared to 6.02 million barrels per day in the previous May.
The export figures are the lowest in at least 18 years, according to a survey conducted by Anadolu Agency, referring to historical data of the Joint Oil Data Initiative.
Saudi Arabia reduced its production in compliance with the agreement of the "OPEC Plus" coalition, as a result of the repercussions of the Corona pandemic on global demand for crude.
Saudi Arabia’s production decreased last June by 11.8% on a monthly basis to 7.484 million barrels per day, compared to 8.486 million barrels per day in the previous May.
Judy is an international organization established by decision of oil producers around the world in the early 1990s, with the aim of collecting figures and statistics related to oil production around the world and presenting them in the form of studies of interest to oil producers and consumers alike.