Saudi Arabia receives record number of foreign visitors in 2024

Saudi Arabia has reported that it received 30mn foreign tourists last year, up from around 27.5mn in 2023. The sector has been a key focus point of the Vision 2030 reform agenda in KSA and transport was one of the fastest growing sectors last year. The aim is for 70mn foreign visitors annually by the end of the decade, with a host of major international sports and cultural entertainment events alongside the development of Riyad Air set to support the growth targets. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly spoke with President Trump yesterday, telling him that KSA was prepared to boost its investments in the US by USD 600bn over the next four years, or more should the opportunities arise.

In other news from Saudi Arabia, the Public Investment Firm is reportedly selling its Thiqah Business Services company to Elm company for USD 907mn as it looks to boost its cash levels in order to support high levels of spending planned domestically. PIF owns a 67% stake in Elm, with the move set to consolidate digital services in the country. There has been a slew of cash raising in Saudi Arabia since the start of the year (see further below) with a budget shortfall that needs to be covered if investment plans are to continue as scheduled.

In the absence of any major data points over the past several days the focus for international markets has been on the newly installed Trump administration in the US, and any news around tariffs in particular. Yesterday was a relatively slow day by the standards of the first 48 hours, but Trump did state that he would increase sanctions on Russia, and its energy sector in particular, in order to bring it to the table on Ukraine.

Today’s Economic Data and Events

15:00 Turkey central bank decision, forecast: 45.00%

17:30 US initial jobless claims, week to January 23. Forecast: 220,000

Fixed Income

• There was little to move bond markets yesterday with data scarce and the Fed in its blackout period. In the US, treasuries sold off modestly after the rally seen earlier in the week, with yields on the 2yr up 2bps at 4.2975% and the 10yr closing up 4bps at 4.6109%.
• PIF came to the market yesterday, selling USD 4bn of dollar debt, with notes of maturities of five and 9.5 years with spreads of 95bps and 110bps above USTs. Orders were over USD 16bn, bringing pricing lower than had been initially mooted.

FX

• The dollar index closed up 0.1% yesterday, though remains down over the week as it fell 1.2% on reopening on Tuesday, with a relative soft opening on tariffs from President Trump easing pressure on many peer currencies the previous day.
• Of the majors, CAD remains the most under pressure and it lost 0.4% yesterday. EUR closed down 0.2% at 1.0409, while GBP closed 0.3% lower at 1.2316. JPY lost 0.7% to 156.53 with the BoJ meeting at the end of the week in focus.

Equities

• US equities closed higher yesterday, with the Dow Jones, the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ adding 0.3%, 0.6%, and 1.3% respectively, with the S&P 500 brushing against new record highs.
• In Europe, the DAX was the key gainer as it closed up 1.0%, while the CAC added 0.9%. The FTSE 100 lagged as it closed almost flat.

• Locally, the DFM and the ADX both closed 0.2% higher. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul fell 0.1%.

Commodities

• Weekly API data showed a rise in US crude oil stockpiles in data released yesterday, putting downward pressure on global prices. Crude inventories reportedly rose by 1mn bbl last week.
• Brent futures closed down for the fifth day in a row, falling 0.4% to USD 79.0/b, while WTI fell by 0.6% to USD 75.4/b.