The foreign assets of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (the central bank) rose by 7.65 billion dollars (1.7 percent) on a monthly basis, to reach 448.95 billion dollars last March. Whereas, at the end of February, foreign reserves reached 1655 billion riyals ($ 441.3 billion), the lowest level in more than 10 years.
The Arab Monetary Agency revealed that remittances of foreigners residing in the Kingdom to abroad increased by 10.5 percent on an annual basis, during the first quarter of 2021, to 37.4 billion riyals (9.98 billion dollars).
Saudi Arabia’s revenues, which depend on oil as a main source of income, have been hit by low prices and demand for crude due to the outbreak of the Corona virus, Saudi Arabia lost 50 billion dollars from its foreign reserves during March and April 2020, of which 40 billion dollars have been transferred to the state's sovereign fund (the Public Investment Fund) to take advantage of opportunities in global markets with the repercussions of "Corona".
Saudi Arabia recorded a deficit of $ 79.5 billion in 2020, with revenues of $ 205.5 billion, compared to expenditures of $ 285 billion. The Saudi government announced the 2021 budget by spending $ 264 billion in return for revenues of $ 226 billion, and expected a deficit of $ 38 billion.
Source (Anadolu Agency, Edited)
