Saudi Arabia's merchandise trade surplus widened further to 26.02 billion Saudi riyals in May, as oil exports increased and imports declined, data from the General Authority for Statistics showed Sunday.
The surplus surged by 328.8% compared with the previous year and was up from April's revised amount of 22.76 billion riyals.
Merchandise exports rose 3.9% year over year to 93.78 billion riyals, with a 19.5% rise in oil sales, lifting the commodity's share of overall exports to 75.6% from 65.7% in May 2025. Machinery, electrical equipment, and parts accounted for 22% of non-oil exports, though the segment's exports plunged by 31.6% compared with the prior year.
China was the largest buyer of the kingdom's goods for the month, taking 12.3% of overall exports, followed by South Korea at 9.6% and the United Arab Emirates at 7.5%.
Meanwhile, merchandise imports fell 19.5% to 67.76 billion riyals on an annual basis. Machinery and electrical equipment were also Saudi Arabia's top import, at 26.4% of the total, despite falling 28% year on year.
China also served as the country's primary source of imports, providing 22% of all goods, with the US and Egypt accounting for 10.7% and 8.4%, respectively.
