Non-oil activity grew 1.9% in the third quarter.
The kingdom's economy shrank for a second straight quarter, but less sharply, as oil production began to recover from the Hormuz shutdown.
Real GDP fell 3.8% from a year earlier in the third quarter, after a 4.7% drop in the second, according to flash estimates from the General Authority for Statistics. From the previous quarter, it grew 1.3%.
Oil still the drag
Oil activity was 20.4% lower than a year earlier. That knocked 4.7 percentage points off growth, but it was an improvement on the 24.8% slump in the second quarter.
Production rose 5.7% from the previous quarter as Aramco kept exports near their wartime high.
The rest of the economy
Non-oil activity grew 1.9%, faster than the 0.8% pace in the second quarter. The private sector is also feeling better: the non-oil purchasing managers' index rose to 55.3 in September, its strongest in months.
Government activity fell 2.7%, a sign that state spending is tightening.
Before the new front
The figures run only to the end of September. The escalation with Yemen's Houthis peaked in September and October, with missile and drone strikes on southern Saudi Arabia, energy sites and Riyadh. Most of that falls outside this quarter.
What to watch
The IMF expects the economy to shrink 3.3% this year before rebounding 7.9% in 2027. How fast that recovery comes depends on Hormuz reopening and the Red Sea staying passable.
