S&P Affirms Saudi Arabia's Credit Rating at 'A+' with a Stable Outlook

In its report, the agency explained that its affirmation of the Kingdom's credit rating with a stable outlook reflects the Kingdom's ability to withstand pressures resulting from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. This includes the diversity of the Kingdom's energy export infrastructure, its ability to redirect crude oil exports to the Red Sea via the East-West pipeline, alongside the Kingdom's resilience and ability to leverage its massive domestic and international oil storage and refining capabilities.

The agency pointed out that the stable outlook reflects the continued momentum of non-oil growth and associated non-oil revenues, alongside the government's ability to reprioritize investment spending linked to Saudi Vision 2030, thereby supporting the economy and the fiscal path.

The agency projected a 0.9% decline in real GDP in 2026, followed by a growth of 8.2% in 2027, driven by higher oil production, and an average growth of 3.3% during 2028 and 2029.

It explained that the continued reprioritization of the implementation of Saudi Vision 2030 projects would contribute to fiscal resilience, and expected the Kingdom to continue adopting a prudent and flexible approach in this regard, while remaining committed to achieving the targets of Saudi Vision 2030 without impacting public finances. The agency also expected that ongoing structural reforms would contribute to supporting the growth of the non-oil sector, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Wall Street ended Friday's trading session with notable gains, as oil prices fell and strong consumer price data bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week to combat inflation.

The price of Ripple (XRP) fell below $1.33 on Friday, marking its third consecutive session of decline. The cryptocurrency continued to track the broader cryptocurrency market downturn, as investors closely monitored escalating macroeconomic uncertainty ahead of the release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision next week.