Saudi non-oil GDP growth to slow to 2.8% this year

Growth in Saudi Arabia’s non-oil gross domestic product is expected to slow to 2.8 per cent in 2016 from 3.4 per cent in 2015, Saudi central bank governor Ahmed al-Kholifey told state television station Ekhbariya.

Kholifey, speaking in an interview broadcast late on Saturday, was responding to a question about Saudi monetary policy and economic growth given global financial market turmoil caused by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

He said the central bank was continuing to monitor key economic indicators, noting that the point-of-sale aggregate, an indicator of consumption, had risen 15 per cent year-on-year in May and that a rebound of oil prices over the past few months had helped to support growth somewhat.

Repeating a central bank statement issued earlier on Saturday, Kholifey said Brexit would not have much impact on Saudi financial institutions because of their limited exposure to Britain and their healthy asset quality.