NEW YORK, May 6. /TASS/. Saudi Arabia recorded its largest budget deficit since 2018 in the first quarter of 2026, owing mostly to a decline in oil revenues, Bloomberg reported.
The kingdom posted its largest budget deficit in eight years - $33.5 billion. In the last three months of 2025, the deficit exceeded $25 billion, more than double what it was the same period last year.
The first-quarter deficit was also exacerbated by high spending on projects to diversify the economy.
In the first quarter, oil revenues fell by almost 3% year-on-year, while expenditures increased by almost 20% to $103 billion.
As the agency notes, the consequences of the US and Israeli military operation against Iran will have a significant impact on Saudi Arabia's economic performance in the second quarter, but high oil prices and maintained export levels could help the government record a smaller deficit over this year than projected before the war.
As the kingdom's authorities earlier reported, GDP grew by 2.8% year-on-year in the first quarter, which is the lowest figure since mid-2024.
Also, as Bloomberg notes, Saudi Arabia lowered oil prices for the Asian market in June by $4 per barrel amid declining demand.