Higher oil prices and higher exports resulted in a 147-percent jump in the value of Saudi Arabia’s oil exports in May 2021 compared to May 2020, data from the Kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics showed on Wednesday. The value of oil exports increased by US$9.5 billion (35.8 billion Saudi riyals)—or by 146.7 percent year over year—to stand at US$16.1 billion (60.5 billion riyals) in May 2021, the official data from the world’s top oil exporter showed. The jump in oil exports was the main driver of the rise in the value of total Saudi exports of goods in May 2021, when merchandise exports jumped by 120.1 percent year over year. The May 2020 trade was hit by the COVID-related lockdowns and travel bans. Over the course of the year to May 2021, Saudi Arabia also significantly raised the share of oil exports in total merchandise exports—from 65.3 percent in […]