Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia's foreign reserve assets inched up 0.9% year-on-year in June, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) said.
The value of overseas reserve assets amounted to SAR 1.898 trillion last month, compared to SAR 1.882 trillion in the same month a year earlier, according to the Saudi central bank's monthly bulletin.
The rise in the kingdom’s foreign reserves was attributed to a 13.4% increase in foreign cash and deposits abroad, registering SAR 660.5 billion in June, compared to SAR 582.2 billion in the same month in the year before.
Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) edged up to SAR 29.8 billion during June, compared to SAR 28.55 billion in June 2017.
In the same vein, investment in securities fell 4.8% to SAR 1.201 trillion by June-end from SAR 1.262 trillion in the prior-year period.
The GCC nation's foreign reserves in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decreased to SAR 5.53 billion in June, from SAR 7.36 billion in June 2017.
Month-on-month, the oil-rich country’s foreign reserves inched up 0.4% in the previous month, against SAR 1.892 trillion.
Saudi reserve assets include investments in overseas securities, foreign cash, international deposits, reserve status in the IMF, SDRs, and monetary gold.
