UPDATE 1-Saudi forex reserves rising, capital outflows due to investment -c.bank | Reuters

UPDATE 1-Saudi forex reserves rising, capital outflows due to investment -c.bank | Reuters:

Foreign reserves at Saudi Arabia’s central bank have been increasing this year and a large proportion of recent capital outflows has been due to foreign investment by other Saudi institutions, a senior central bank official said on Sunday.

Brent oil has jumped near $80 a barrel from $67 at the end of 2017, swelling Saudi Arabia’s current account surplus and shrinking its state budget deficit; this has reduced the need to liquidate assets to finance government spending.

However, the central bank’s net foreign assets — a measure of the country’s ability to defend its currency if needed — have risen only marginally, to $493.8 billion at the end of July from $488.9 billion at the end of 2017.