Report: Saudi foreign reserve fell $20bn in April

The net foreign assets of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) dropped by nearly $20 billion in April, Reuters reported.

The news site said on Sunday that SAMA’s net foreign assets fell from $464.64 billion in March to $443.75 billion in April.

According to data released by SAMA, total assets, which include foreign currency and deposits abroad as well as investment in foreign securities, dropped by nearly $20 billion month-on-month in April.

Earlier on Friday, the Saudi Finance Minister, Mohamed Al-Jadaan, said the kingdom transferred $40 billion from its foreign reserves to the Public Investment Fund (PIF) to back investments abroad to maximize returns.

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Al-Jadaan said the transfers were “exceptional”.

SAMA’s net foreign assets had dropped by nearly $27 billion month-on-month in March, their fastest decline in at least 20 years.

Saudi Arabia, the largest oil producer in the world, has been suffering from a historical decline in crude oil prices exacerbated by global lockdown measures imposed to combat the coronavirus outbreak.