By: Mohamed Abumeleeh
Riyadh-Mubasher: Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency’s (SAMA) reserve assets decreased by 15.9% or SAR 415.9 billion ($110.9 billion) on an annual basis to reach SAR 2.2 trillion ($587 billion) in March as compared to SAR 2.6 trillion ($697.9 billion) in the same month of 2015.
SAMA, the central bank of Saudi Arabia, saw a decline in the assets for the 14th month in a row, reaching the lowest value in four years when it totaled SAR 2.17 trillion ($580 billion) in April, 2012, according to recent data.
On the first quarter’s level, SAMA’s reserves posted the highest decrease rate on a quarterly basis over the past 15 years, reaching 15.9% as compared to 15.8% and 4.86% in Q4-15 and Q1-15 respectively.
SAMA’s “reserves at the International Monetary Fund” shrank by 35.5% to approach SAR 7.79 billion ($2.08 billion) in March, while the “foreign monetary and deposits abroad” increased by 16% to SAR 705 billion ($188 billion).
