Crude oil price fluctuations and their impact on performance - Case study of Saudi Arabia

Kamil Maitah

Bachelor's thesis

Abstract:

In many countries crude oil plays a crucial role and presents the main determinant of economic performance of these countries. Such an economy is the economy of Saudi Arabia. The main objective of this thesis is to analyze the impact of crude oil price volatility on the economic performance of Saudi Arabia. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part is theoretical and the second part is analytical. To achieve its aims the thesis has mainly used regression analysis in order to extract meaningful statistics and other characteristics of the data. It has been found that crude oil has a dominant role in the economy of Saudi Arabia. It determines both internal economic development and its position in international economic relations. From this the advantages and vulnerabilities of the economy of this country emerge. This means that any fluctuation in price or quantity of extracted crude oil will affect the international economic position of this country and its political and socio-economic development. Saudi Arabia represents a significant country of the developing world. With regard to the high crude oil reserves and its extraction it occupies an irreplaceable place in the global economy. Crude oil also identifies its key importance in geopolitical approaches to major world political and economic forces. Given that crude oil will remain number one strategic source of energy and very important raw material for the development of the chemical industry for the foreseeable future, Saudi Arabia stands at the forefront of political and economic interests of all the major centers of the developed world.

Keywords

price volatility, crude oil, GDP, Saudi Arabia

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 11. 3. 2016

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: Ing. Jiří Mach, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Economics and Management

Bachelor programme / field:
Economics and Management / Economics and Management