Saudi money supply growth slows 15.3 pct

The annual growth in Saudi Arabia's M3 money supply fell for a third month in a row in July to 15.3 percent, as loans to the private sector posted their lowest annual expansion in at least three years.

Bank claims on the private sector, a key indicator of lenders' confidence in the economy, stood at 728.84 billion riyals in July, inching up from 728.7 billion riyals in June, according to data published by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) on Tuesday.

In terms of annual growth, bank claims on the private sector slowed to 3.6 percent in July, down from 5.6 percent in June.