Saudi Council of Economic, Development Affairs Holds Meeting to Discuss Economic Issues

Saudi Council of Economic, Development Affairs Holds Meeting to Discuss Economic Issues
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Saudi Council of Economic, Development Affairs Holds Meeting to Discuss Economic Issues

Saudi Council of Economic, Development Affairs Holds Meeting to Discuss Economic Issues

The Council of Economic and Development Affairs has held a video conference to discuss reports, presentations and topics on its agenda, including the periodic presentation submitted by the Ministry of Economy and Planning on local and global economic developments.
The presentation included an analysis of key indicators of the national economy and the growth rate witnessed recently. It commended the continuous growth of non-oil activities, SPA reported.
It also lauded the high growth rates of the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in the non-oil private sector for the third year in a row, which reached the highest performance level among the G20 countries.

The council discussed efforts made to develop and diversify the national production of goods and services that have a competitive advantage for the Kingdom, in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 goals to build a thriving economy that improves the country's standing globally.
The presentation addressed priority economic activities that have attractive advantages for the development of the industrial sector, such as metal works, the automobile industry, computer and electronic products, and activities in service sectors such as tourism, transportation and logistics, communications and information technology.
It also touched on opportunities to develop and diversify national goods and services, and raise the level of competitiveness of national production in partnership with the private sector, investors and state-owned companies in a way that supports the growth of non-oil exports and boosts integration in local, regional and international value chains, as well as contributes to increasing local content, improves the Kingdom’s non-oil trade balance, and achieves economic sustainability.

The council tackled the Office of the Strategic Committee of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs’ quarterly report on the programs to achieve Vision 2030.

The meeting reviewed the quarterly presentation submitted by the National Center for Performance Management of Public Entities regarding the performance of public sector entities. It highlighted the performance of different entities and their efforts to achieve Vision 2030, the results of the performance review meetings held by the center in cooperation with the entities, and the corrective measures taken to ensure that targets are reached.

The council also went over the presentation submitted by the National Center for Privatization on the highlights of the presentations submitted by the supervisory committees for privatization projects for H1 of 2023.
The meeting concluded with the necessary decisions and recommendations.



Oil Falls from Highest since October as Dollar Strengthens

People stand on the the pier with offshore oil and gas platform Esther in the distance on January 5, 2025 in Seal Beach, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP
People stand on the the pier with offshore oil and gas platform Esther in the distance on January 5, 2025 in Seal Beach, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP
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Oil Falls from Highest since October as Dollar Strengthens

People stand on the the pier with offshore oil and gas platform Esther in the distance on January 5, 2025 in Seal Beach, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP
People stand on the the pier with offshore oil and gas platform Esther in the distance on January 5, 2025 in Seal Beach, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP

Oil prices dipped on Monday amid a strong US dollar ahead of key economic data by the US Federal Reserve and US payrolls later in the week.
Brent crude futures slid 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $76.23 a barrel by 0800 GMT after settling on Friday at its highest since Oct. 14.
US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 27 cents, or 0.4%, at $73.69 a barrel after closing on Friday at its highest since Oct. 11, Reuters reported.
Oil posted five-session gains previously with hopes of rising demand following colder weather in the Northern Hemisphere and more fiscal stimulus by China to revitalize its faltering economy.
However, the strength of the dollar is on investor's radar, Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova, wrote in a report on Monday.
The dollar stayed close to a two-year peak on Monday. A stronger dollar makes it more expensive to buy the greenback-priced commodity.
Investors are also awaiting economic news for more clues on the Federal Reserve's rate outlook and energy consumption.
Minutes of the Fed's last meeting are due on Wednesday and the December payrolls report will come on Friday.
There are some future concerns about Iranian and Russian oil shipments as the potential for stronger sanctions on both producers looms.
The Biden administration plans to impose more sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine, taking aim at its oil revenues with action against tankers carrying Russian crude, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Sunday.
Goldman Sachs expects Iran's production and exports to fall by the second quarter as a result of expected policy changes and tighter sanctions from the administration of incoming US President Donald Trump.
Output at the OPEC producer could drop by 300,000 barrels per day to 3.25 million bpd by second quarter, they said.
The US oil rig count, an indicator of future output, fell by one to 482 last week, a weekly report from energy services firm Baker Hughes showed on Friday.
Still, the global oil market is clouded by a supply surplus this year as a rise in non-OPEC supplies is projected by analysts to largely offset global demand increase, also with the possibility of more production in the US under Trump.