Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi foreign reserve assets dropped 13.16% by the end of August 2017, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) said Thursday.
Total reserve assets reached around SAR 1.828 trillion ($487.5 billion) in August 2017, down from SAR 2.105 trillion ($561.3 billion) in August 2016, according to SAMA’s monthly report.
Reserve assets declined 1.4% month-on-month to SAR 1.828 trillion in August from SAR 1.854 trillion.
Investing in foreign securities recorded a value about SAR 1.241 trillion by the end of August 2017, compared to SAR 1.404 trillion during the same period of the previous year.
Foreign exchange and deposits amounted to SAR 549.72 billion last month, versus SAR 663.5 billion in August 2016.
Meanwhile, Saudi reserves held at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached SAR 7.147 trillion in August 2017, compared to SAR 7.6 trillion in August 2016.
Data also showed that special drawing rights (SDRs) rose to SAR 29.121 billion from SAR 28.624 billion in August 2016, while monetary gold prices stood at SAR 1.62 billion.
In July, SAMA reported an annual decline of 12.6% in Saudi foreign reserves
