Tertius News is an AI-native newsroom: an AI model reads the linked source articles below and extracts what each outlet reported, so you can compare their coverage side by side. How this works →

Saudi Arabia's Q1 budget deficit largest since 2018 — Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia's budget deficit widened to 125.7 billion riyals ($33.5bn) in the first quarter of 2026, the largest since 2018, as government spending rose 20% and oil revenues fell 3%. The shortfall was more than double the gap recorded a year earlier, and reflects the impact of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage May 6, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

Saudi Arabia's budget deficit widened to 125.7 billion riyals ($33.5bn) in the first three months of the year, the kingdom's largest shortfall since 2018, as government spending surged and oil revenues declined, according to budget figures released by the Saudi Ministry of Finance and reported by Al Jazeera and TASS.

The first-quarter deficit was more than double the shortfall posted during the same period last year, and came as total government spending rose 20 percent to 386.7 billion riyals, while oil revenues fell 3 percent to 144.7 billion riyals, as reported by Al Jazeera, citing the ministry's figures.

Coverage comparison

The two outlets reporting on the figures offered largely overlapping numbers but different emphases. Al Jazeera attributed the sharp rise in the deficit to declining oil revenues and rising spending, and linked the fall in crude sales to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted maritime traffic for more than two months, as the outlet reported. TASS, citing Bloomberg, framed the deficit as the largest since 2018 and noted that high spending on economic diversification projects contributed to the shortfall. TASS also reported that the consequences of the US and Israeli military operation against Iran would have a significant impact on Saudi Arabia's economic performance in the second quarter, but that high oil prices and maintained export levels could help the government record a smaller deficit this year than projected before the war.

Both outlets reported the year-on-year changes in oil revenues and expenditures consistently: oil revenues fell by almost 3 percent (Al Jazeera: 3 percent) and expenditures increased by almost 20 percent (Al Jazeera: 20 percent). TASS converted the expenditure figure to $103 billion.

Key claims

Saudi Arabia's budget deficit widened to 125.7 billion riyals ($33.5bn) in the first quarter of 2026, as reported by Al Jazeera, citing the Saudi Ministry of Finance, and by TASS, citing Bloomberg.
The deficit is the largest since 2018, according to TASS, which reported the figure as $33.5 billion.
Total government spending rose 20 percent to 386.7 billion riyals year-on-year, according to Al Jazeera.
Oil revenues fell 3 percent to 144.7 billion riyals, according to Al Jazeera. TASS reported the decline as almost 3 percent.
The budget gap was more than double the shortfall posted in the same period last year, according to Al Jazeera. TASS added that the deficit in the last three months of 2025 exceeded $25 billion.
Saudi officials had projected a deficit of 65 billion riyals ($17bn) for the whole of 2026, an outlook Al Jazeera said the first-quarter figure represents a significant departure from.
GDP grew by 2.8% year-on-year in the first quarter, the lowest figure since mid-2024, as earlier reported by Saudi authorities and cited by TASS.
Al Jazeera reported that maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been at a standstill for more than two months.
TASS reported that Saudi Arabia lowered oil prices for the Asian market in June by $4 per barrel amid declining demand, citing Bloomberg.

Spending details

Al Jazeera reported that by sector, economic resources saw the biggest rise in government spending, increasing 52 percent year-on-year. Spending on general items rose 46 percent, while military, infrastructure and transport each saw a 26 percent gain in expenditures. Non-oil revenues rose by 2 percent, partly offsetting the drop in commodities sales.

As the world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia has faced disruption in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, though Al Jazeera noted the kingdom has been able to reroute much of its exports through the Red Sea port of Yanbu via the East-West Pipeline.

Outlook

TASS reported that the consequences of the US and Israeli military operation against Iran are expected to have a significant impact on Saudi Arabia's economic performance in the second quarter, but that high oil prices and maintained export levels could help the government record a smaller deficit over the year than projected before the war.

Al Jazeera did not include forward-looking statements about the second quarter or the remainder of the year in the material reviewed.

How each outlet told it

Al Jazeera as of May 6, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC

Framing: Sharp rise in budget shortfall amid Strait of Hormuz closure — Neutral

Facts Included:

Saudi Arabia's budget deficit widened to 125.7 billion riyals ($33.5bn) in the first three months of the year
Rising government spending coincided with a fall in crude sales
Total government spending rose 20 percent to 386.7 billion riyals year-on-year
Oil revenues fell 3 percent to 144.7 billion riyals
The budget gap was more than double the shortfall posted during the same period last year
Saudi officials had projected a deficit of 65 billion riyals ($17bn) for the whole of 2026

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of May 6, 2026, 1:45 PM UTC

Framing: Saudi Arabia's largest budget deficit since 2018 — Neutral

Facts Included:

Saudi Arabia recorded its largest budget deficit since 2018
The kingdom posted its largest budget deficit in eight years - $33.5 billion
Oil revenues fell by almost 3% year-on-year
Expenditures increased by almost 20% to $103 billion
GDP grew by 2.8% year-on-year in the first quarter

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimSaudi Arabia's budget deficit widened to 125.7 billion riyals ($33.5bn) in the first three months of the year.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from Al Jazeera as of May 6, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimRising government spending coincided with a fall in crude sales.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 6, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC
ClaimTotal government spending rose 20 percent to 386.7 billion riyals year-on-year.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 6, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC
ClaimOil revenues fell 3 percent to 144.7 billion riyals.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from Al Jazeera as of May 6, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe budget gap was more than double the shortfall posted during the same period last year.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from Al Jazeera as of May 6, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimSaudi officials had projected a deficit of 65 billion riyals ($17bn) for the whole of 2026.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 6, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC
ClaimSaudi Arabia recorded its largest budget deficit since 2018.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 6, 2026, 1:45 PM UTC
ClaimGDP grew by 2.8% year-on-year in the first quarter.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 6, 2026, 1:45 PM UTC
ClaimThe consequences of the US and Israeli military operation against Iran will have a significant impact on Saudi Arabia's economic performance.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 6, 2026, 1:45 PM UTC
ClaimMaritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been at a standstill for more than two months.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 6, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: Al Jazeera, TASS — English 10 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15