ABSTRACT
Saudi Arabia is the world's leading exporter of crude and now commands a primary position in the international economy. International trade, predicated upon the export of oil, is the backbone of the Saudi Arabian economy. The structure of Saudi Arabia's balance of payments reflects the typical characteristics of an oil economy. Saudi Arabian exports consist almost exclusively of crude and refined petroleum. This chapter concerns with the structure and composition of trade in Saudi Arabia, as well as the direction of that trade with the rest of the world. The pattern of Saudi Arabian export relationships changed somewhat in the 1970s. The major sources of Saudi Arabian imports in 1978 were Western Europe, the USA and Japan. A major crisis in the international monetary system was obviously averted, perhaps due to the fiscal responsibility of the Saudi government and their firm policy commitment to stability in the international monetary system.
