Riyadh - Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant prices levelled down by 1% during the first quarter (Q1) of 2020, compared to a 1.7% growth in the corresponding period in 2019.

The kingdom’s GDP at constant prices came at SAR 654.03 billion by March-end, preliminary estimates by the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) showed.

The decline is mainly attributed to a 4.6% contraction in the oil sector. However, the non-oil sector grew by 1.6% over the first three months of 2020, backed by a growth in the private sector by 1.4% and the governmental sector by 1.9%.

The Saudi GDP at current prices totalled SAR 695.6 billion in Q1-20, down by 3.2% from the same quarter a year earlier.