Saudi Cash Burn Drives Foreign Reserves to Lowest Since 2013
- Oil rout putting Saudi public finances under pressure
- Budget planners said to be considering cuts to fuel subsidies
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Saudi Arabia’s net foreign assets fell to the lowest level in more than two years in August and demand for loans among private businesses slowed, as the kingdom grappled with oil prices below $50 a barrel.
Falling for a seventh month in a row, net foreign assets held by the central bank dropped to $654.5 billion, the lowest since February 2013. That compares with $661 billion in July, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency said in its monthly report. Credit to private businesses grew 8.4 percent, the slowest rate since 2011.