Saudi Arabia has reported a sharp rise in its Industrial Production Index (IPI) to 11.9 percent in June 2021 from a year earlier and by 3.6 percent from May, official data showed today.
The increase resulted almost exclusively from higher production in mining and quarrying, which gained 19.3 percent on an annual basis and 4.5 percent from the previous month with Saudi oil production operating at high volumes, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GSTAT).
The Kingdom increased its oil production from 7.4 million bpd in June 2020 to 8.9 million bpd in June 2021.
Non-oil manufacturing activity decreased by 4.2 percent in June 2021 compared with the same month last year, and by 0.4 percent from May 2021.
The electricity and gas supply increased by 13.9 percent, with little impact on the IPI because of its low weight, according to GSTAT.
The Kingdom is anticipating increased industrial activity in coming years through advanced technology.
Advanced technology from the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is expected to generate around SR1 trillion for the Saudi economy in new revenue streams, a senior Saudi official told a conference in Riyadh last month.