Saudi CB Foreign Assets Shrink $7.4b

Net foreign assets at Saudi Arabia’s central bank fell by $7.4 billion to $546.7 billion in September from the previous month, as the government drew down reserves to cover a budget deficit caused by low oil prices, official data showed on Sunday, Reuters reported. Assets shrank by 15.5% from a year earlier to their lowest level since January 2012. They reached a record high of $737 billion in August 2014 before starting to fall. Foreign bank deposits shrank $5.1 billion from the previous month to $114.4 billion in September. Holdings of foreign securities fell $3.5 billion to $372.7 billion.