Saudi Arabia's trade surplus reached SAR 154.72 billion in H1 2026, up 53.17% year on year, on total foreign trade of SAR 1.052 trillion, with exports up 7.3% and imports down 2.7%. The half was front-loaded: Q1 delivered SAR 93.2 billion of the surplus and Q2 SAR 61.52 billion. March surged 213.7% to SAR 56.49 billion, February was the strongest month for total trade at SAR 183.17 billion, and June the weakest at SAR 158.21 billion.
The surplus rose by 53.17% in the first half of the year. The second quarter surplus was SAR 61.52 billion, down from SAR 93.2 billion in the first quarter. This growth was driven by a strong first quarter, although the trend is now declining.
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Confidence at fifty-six seven
Saudi Arabia's Business Confidence Index rose to 56.7 in August from 56.5 in July, holding above the 50-point neutral threshold, according to the General Authority for Statistics. The industrial sector's index climbed to 55.8 and the services index rose to 56.1, after the overall reading dropped to 52.1 in March amid regional tensions and rebounded to 54.5 in April.
Finance directors preparing Saudi budgets for next year should interpret the figure 56.7 as an indicator of continued customer spending expectations, while the March value of 52.1 reflects the pace of change in these expectations.
Saudis stayed home instead
Domestic travel made up 46% of Almosafer's total bookings in the first seven months of 2026, with local bookings up 13% year on year and room nights up 44%. Room nights in Makkah and Madinah rose 53%, Red Sea room nights rose more than 4,000% against the same period last year, and the Red Sea recorded the highest average booking value of any destination Saudi travellers booked, ahead of Paris and London.
Even with regional tension, travellers kept moving. They changed their routes, and the destination that saw the most demand now has the highest average booking value in the market.
Two quarters, two directions
Saudi Arabia's trade surplus reached SAR 154.72 billion in H1 2026, up 53.17% year on year, on total foreign trade of SAR 1.052 trillion, with exports up 7.3% and imports down 2.7%. The half was front-loaded: Q1 delivered SAR 93.2 billion of the surplus and Q2 SAR 61.52 billion. March surged 213.7% to SAR 56.49 billion, February was the strongest month for total trade at SAR 183.17 billion, and June the weakest at SAR 158.21 billion.
The surplus rose by 53.17% in the first half of the year. The second quarter surplus was SAR 61.52 billion, down from SAR 93.2 billion in the first quarter. This growth was driven by a strong first quarter, although the trend is now declining.
