Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in September rose for a fifth month in a row to their highest since January, the Joint Organisation Data Initiative (JODI) said on Thursday.
The kingdom’s crude oil exports rose to 6.516 million barrels per day in September, compared to 6.450 million barrels per day in August.
Total exports including oil products stood at 7.84 million barrels per day.
Saudi crude oil exports
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, is raising output 400,000 barrels per day per month, gradually unwinding record output cuts made in 2020.
The cartel holds its next policy meeting on December 2.
Saudi Arabia’s domestic crude refinery throughput fell to 2.49 million barrels per day in September. Direct crude burn fell 111,000 barrels per day to 543,000 barrels per day, the JODI figures showed.
Monthly export figures are provided by Riyadh and other OPEC members to JODI, which publishes them on its website.
In a related context, Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate increased during the month of October by 0.2%, supported by food and beverage prices.
Data from the General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia said that the inflation rate continues to rise for the 22nd month in a row, reaching 0.8% on an annual basis.
During 2019, inflation witnessed a deflation, and then began to rise since then.
The data showed an increase in inflation by 0.2% on a monthly basis, and the rise in inflation last month was driven by the increase in food and beverage prices, the second most influential section in the index, by 1.4% on an annual basis, and transportation by 6.4%.
Since July 2020, Saudi Arabia has started raising value-added tax from 5% to 15% to counter the drop in oil prices due to the pandemic.
The CPI reflects changes in the prices that consumers pay for a fixed basket of goods and services consisting of 490 items.
The selection of the basket is based on the results of the expenditure and income survey conducted in 2018, in the light of which the items and their weights are determined.
