Riyadh - Mubasher: Saudi Arabia's macro-economic conditions are picking up, with the spending in the local market, especially in the retail, transport, health, and food and beverages segments increasing gradually, according to a report by Al Rajhi Capital on Thursday, citing the central bank’s May statistics.

Points of sale (POS) transactions continued to advance, surging by 71.7% year-on-year (YoY) in May, mainly driven by annual increases in restaurants and hotels by 201.3%, clothing and footwear by 94.4%, transportation by 82%, and health by 46.7%.

Credit to the private sector grew by 16.7% YoY during May, while bank claims on the public sector rose by 10.6% and the deposits advanced by 7.5%.

The banking sector's net profit before Zakat and tax levelled up by 57.0% YoY to SAR 4.545 billion during May, compared to a 31.8% increase in April.

In the meantime, Saudi Central Bank’s foreign reserves declined by 2.7% YoY in May, compared to a drop of 1.8% in April.

Additionally, the unemployment rate of total Saudis dropped to 11.7% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, compared to 12.6% in Q4-20.

During Q1-21, Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 3%, compared to a fall of 3.9% in Q4-20, signalling a recovery of the kingdom from the pandemic.