Saudi Industrial Output Plunges 19% as OPEC+ Cuts Bite

Saudi Arabia’s industrial production index dropped 19.1% year-on-year in April, hitting 84.9 points from 104.9 a year earlier, according to data released by the General Authority for Statistics on Wednesday. The base year for the index is 2021.

The mining and quarrying sector – which includes crude oil and natural gas extraction – drove the decline. That sub-index fell 21.3% in April, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s continued compliance with OPEC+ production cuts. The kingdom cut output by an additional 1 million barrels per day starting in July 2023, a voluntary reduction it has since phased out gradually.

Manufacturing activity, by contrast, offered a counterweight. The manufacturing sub-index rose 3.1% year-on-year in April, driven by the petrochemicals, plastics, and metals sectors. Non-oil manufacturing, part of the broader Vision 2030 push to diversify the economy away from crude, posted a 3.5% gain.

The divergence between oil and non-oil output has widened since 2023. Mining and quarrying represented about 43% of the IPI weight in the 2021 base year. A sustained 20%-plus contraction in that category pulls the headline number lower even when manufacturing expands.