The year 2022 was a record year for the oil producers, which was reflected in the value of the revenues. In the case of Saudi Arabia, these revenues resulted in a budget surplus of close to $30 billion last year.
However, there are early signs that this celebration is coming to an end. According to the data for the first quarter of 2023, Saudi Arabia ended it with a deficit of about 800 million dollars due to reduced revenues from oil exports. In total, its revenues from oil in the first three months of this year amounted to approximately 47.5 billion dollars.
According to the IMF, Saudi Arabia needs a minimum price of $80 per barrel to maintain a balanced budget. As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, the price of a barrel was lower than this threshold. The decline in Saudi Arabia's revenues also has an impact on economic growth in the first quarter, which was the lowest in 7 quarters (3.9%).