Saudi Q1 economic growth slowest in 3 years

Dubai

SAUDI Arabia's economy expanded at its slowest rate in three years during the first quarter of 2016 as low oil prices forced the government to cut spending and raise costs for industry, official data showed on Sunday.

Some analysts said the data pointed to a risk that growth in the world's top oil exporter may slow to near zero this year, which would be its worst performance since the global financial crisis of 2009.