Freshly released government data shows that Saudi Arabia’s economy contracted by 1% in the first quarter of 2020. With the full economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic not hitting until Q2, this fall is merely a presage of worse to come.

The economy has now shrunk for the past three consecutive quarters – more than meeting the most common definition of a recession – and the Q2 fall is likely to have been larger still. (CONTINUED - 369 WORDS)