Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserves went down 0.5% year-on-year, or SAR 9.98 billion ($2.66 billion), to SAR 1.817 trillion in February, from SAR 1.827 trillion a year earlier, according to a report released by Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA).
On a monthly basis, Saudi reserves declined 1.1%, or SAR 20.1 billion last month, from SAR 1.902 trillion.
The rise of foreign reserves was attributed to a 5.5% decrease in foreign cash and deposits abroad, reaching SAR 560.74 billion in February, against SAR 593.63 billion in the same month a year earlier, the Saudi central bank added.
On the other end of the spectrum, investments in overseas securities rose 1.7% year-on-year to SAR 1.216 trillion last month, compared to SAR 1.196 trillion during the year-ago period.
The reserves status at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased to SAR 7.79 billion in February, versus SAR 5.75 billion in the same month of 2018, whereas Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) grew to SAR 30.5 billion, from SAR 30.34 billion.
Cash gold stabilised at SAR 1.624 billion by the end of February.
The kingdom’s foreign reserves comprise of investments in securities abroad, foreign cash, overseas deposits, reserves status at the IMF, SDRs, and cash gold.
