Saudi Arabia Spending Reduces Room for OPEC Output Cuts - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia Spending Reduces Room for OPEC Output Cuts - Bloomberg:



"Saudi Arabia’s plan to continue spending on social projects and security increases the likelihood that the world’s biggest oil exporter will stick with OPEC’s policy of maintaining output even as crude prices plunge.



“Saudi Arabia is backing up OPEC policy with action to strengthen the home front against the adverse impact of falling oil prices,” Arabia Monitor Chief Economist Florence Eid-Oakden, whose firm advises investors on business risks in the Middle East, said today by phone from London.



The Saudi stock market rebounded after Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf announced today that the government plans to fund “massive” development projects next year, focusing on health care, education, social services and security. Tadawul (SASEIDX) stocks advanced for the first time since Dec. 4, increasing 4.2 percent. The gauge lost almost a third of its value since September amid expectations that falling oil prices will curtail public spending."



'via Blog this'