Saudi Arabia’s economy in the first quarter of 2013 grew at the slowest rate since the first quarter in 2011, newly released data has revealed.

The latest gross domestic product (GDP) data from the Central Department of Statistics and Information (CDSI) showed the kingdom’s economy grew by 2.1 per cent for the first quarter of this year, compared with 4.4 per cent growth for the fourth quarter of 2012 and 6.6 per cent for the first quarter in 2012.

According to the local Jadwa Investment, the slowdown was broadly based, with government services the only sector to record faster growth quarter-on-quarter for the first three months of 2013. Despite the slowdown, the oil sector was the only sector that did not record growth during the first quarter. The decline in the oil sector was due to reduced production.