Saudi economy is resilient, says World Bank expert
Saudi Arabia has five years’ worth of reserves at current spending levels and oil prices, Shantayanan Devarajan, chief economist of the World Bank’s Middle East and North Africa Region said in an interview with Tass.
“The fact is that Saudi Arabia did not cut back its oil exports when the price of oil plummeted in late 2014 (and stayed low in 2015). From an economic point of view, this strategy is sustainable only if Saudi Arabia can manage its fiscal policy so it doesn’t run out of foreign exchange reserves. At current spending levels, the estimates are that it has five years’ worth of reserves,” the expert said.
“The Saudi economy is as resilient as it is able to make the fiscal adjustments to respond to low oil prices. They have already announced the reduction of fuel subsidies,” Devarajan added.
Oil prices accelerated the decline early in January against the decision of the Saudi Aramco to increase discounts on its major blends for European consumers.
Brent price dropped by nearly 30 percent below $28 per barrel in the first three weeks of January but recovered lately to $35 a barrel.
A recent report from Jadwa Investment said that the Kingdom has maintained a high level of spending in the 2016 fiscal budget despite the global environment of lower oil prices.
Education and health care remain the focus of government spending, accounting for 35 percent of total spending.
Source: Arabnews
