Saudi Arabia reported a SAR57.5 billion ($15.3 billion) budget surplus in the first quarter, as officials kept spending under control despite rising oil revenues.
Total government revenue was SAR278 billion, 36% higher than the same quarter last year, while spending increased 4% to SAR220.5 billion.
Capital expenditures fell 1% as the kingdom increased its reliance on its sovereign wealth fund for projects and domestic investment.
The increase was primarily driven by increased oil revenue, which increased 58% year on year as oil prices rose and the kingdom gradually increased production.
Crude oil reached a high of $128 per barrel in the first quarter and averaged nearly $100.
The kingdom’s finance ministry has stated that it will stick to the spending commitments underlined in the December budget announcement for 2022, using higher oil revenues to replenish reserves or transfer to one of the kingdom’s investment funds.
It aspires to end the boom-and-bust cycle that has followed previous periods of high oil prices.
Earlier on Sunday, Saudi Aramco reported its largest profit since its record stock-market listing, as oil prices surged in the aftermath of the Ukrainian crisis.
Oil markets are restoring Saudi Arabia’s fortunes after the kingdom was severely harmed by the pandemic’s plummeting crude prices, offering officials greater geopolitical clout and more money to spend at home and abroad.
