According to official data, Saudi Arabia’s Industrial Production Index increased by 1.1 percent to 105.6 points in April as a result of manufacturing operations. The General Authority for Statistics reports that a 3.1 percent increase in the production of chemical products was the primary cause of the Kingdom’s manufacturing activities’ 2.4 percent month-over-month increase to 119.1 points.

Similarly, the manufacturing sub-index grew as a result of a 1.9 percent rise in coke and refined petroleum product production. In April, Saudi Arabia’s mining and quarrying activity increased by 0.1 percent, to 98.6 points, as compared to March.

An economic indicator called the IPI is derived from production surveys and shows relative changes in the amount of industrial output. In April of last year, the Saudi Arabian IPI fell 6.1% overall from the same month the year before. As per GASTAT, the primary reason for this decrease was the Kingdom’s resolution to lower its oil production in compliance with the OPEC+ agreement, which was established by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies. Saudi Arabia lowered their oil production by 500,000 barrels per day in April 2023 in an effort to preserve market stability; this reduction has now been extended until December 2024.

According to the research, Saudi Arabia cut its oil output to 8.9 million barrels per day in April of last year, which resulted in a 14.1% decline in mining and quarrying activity. According to GASTAT, “the trend of industrial production in the mining and quarrying sector dominates the trend in the general IPI given the relative weights of the mining and quarrying activity, which reached 61.4 percent.” Following with a relative importance of 0.69 percent were the manufacturing, water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities; the activities related to the supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning had a relative value of 35% and 2.8%, respectively.

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