(MENAFN) Saudi Arabia's economy accelerated in the first quarter of 2015, showing the world's top oil exporter can cope with low energy prices, but growth may slow, Arab News reported.
Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, grew 2.4 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter, against a revised 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, the state statistics department said.
The figures indicated Saudi Arabia had offset the impact of oil's 50 percent plunge since mid-2014 with a combination of heavy state spending and a strong private sector.
"Today's data add to the evidence that Saudi Arabia's economy has weathered the storm created by lower oil prices relatively well so far," Middle East economist at Capital Economics said.
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