Europe 1 with AFP 4:39 p.m., July 31, 2022

Saudi Arabia's GDP rose nearly 12% in the second quarter.

The Gulf monarchy has benefited from the rise in the price of oil linked to the post-health crisis economic recovery but also to the war in Ukraine.

The country's growth should be around 7.6% over the year.

Saudi Arabia's GDP rose nearly 12% in the second quarter of 2022, thanks to higher oil prices, authorities in the wealthy Gulf monarchy said on Sunday.

Among the world's major crude exporters, Saudi Arabia has benefited in recent months from a surge in oil prices following the post-Covid recovery and also the war in Ukraine, after several years of decline that had affected the first Arab economy.

"Saudi Arabia's real GDP grew by 11.8% in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the second quarter of 2021," according to estimates released by the General Statistics Authority.

This growth is due to "the significant increase in oil activities of 23.1%, in addition to the increase in non-oil activities of 5.4%", she said.

Western powers demand increased production 

In May, Saudi Arabia announced its highest growth rate in ten years, with an increase of 9.6% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year, already thanks to the boom in the petroleum sector.

The rise in crude oil prices benefits exporting countries, including those in the Gulf, courted by Western powers who are asking them to open the floodgates of production to calm the markets and thus limit global inflation.

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Saudi Arabia is expected to see its GDP grow by 7.6% in 2022 compared to last year, according to the International Monetary Fund.