The Saudi Royal Family have achieved an impressive 10 percent GDP growth in the first quarter of 2022, which is the Kingdom’s highest growth rate in a decade, due to rising crude oil prices and an internationally precarious situation.
The economic results on Sunday come after Saudi Arabia opposed the United States requests to increase oil output in an attempt to reduce soaring prices, which have spiked since Putin’s military invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukraine war which sent oil prices spiking by over 20, has caused economic pressure on Western nations that are already experiencing record inflation, but has greatly benefited the Saudi Royal Family and the other oil-producing families in the Arabian peninsular.
The Saudi Royals doubled down on their OPEC+ alliance with Russia, creating further distance from their long-standing partner and protector, the US. Mohammed bin Salman has been in talks with the Chinese, negotiating a possible switch to selling oil for the Yuan rather than the USD. Such a move would be disastrous for the US dollar, and would signal the end of a long-standing agreement between the US and the Saudi Royals.
