Saudi Arabia’s net foreign assets fell for the third month in a row in February as the government waits for a windfall from higher oil prices to transfer through to its reserves.
Net foreign assets held by the central bank declined by 1.2% to around $424 billion last month, the lowest level since 2010. But rises and falls in the stockpile have settled into a pattern since the shift to a quarterly dividend payment from Saudi Aramco in late 2019, with sharp increases around those payments and drops in the months in between.
The next dividend payment from Aramco is expected on Thursday, and should be reflected in March central bank data reported next month. Aramco paid a total of $149 billion to the Saudi government last year, split between dividends, royalties and taxation, up from $110 billion in 2020.
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