Saudi reserves dip below $500 billion
▻http://www.dailystar.com.lb//Business/Regional/2017/May-30/407693-saudi-reserves-dip-below-500-billion.ashx
Saudi Arabia’s net foreign assets dropped below $500 billion in April for the first time since 2011 even after the kingdom raised $9 billion from its first international sale of Islamic bonds. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, as the central bank is known, said Sunday its net foreign assets fell by $8.5 billion from the previous month to about $493 billion, the lowest level since 2011. That brings the decline this year to $36 billion.
“Didn’t really see any major driver for such a huge drop, especially when accounting for the sukuk sale,” said Mohammad Abu Basha, a Cairo-based economist at EFG-Hermes, an investment bank. Even if the proceeds from the sale weren’t included, “the reserve decline remains huge,” he said.
