Saudi central bank’s net foreign assets drop $11b in June

Dubai: Net foreign assets at Saudi Arabia’s central bank fell by $11 billion from the previous month to $562 billion in June as the government drew down its reserves to cover a budget deficit caused by low oil prices, official data showed on Thursday. Assets shrank 15.9 per cent from a year earlier to their lowest level since early 2012. They reached a record high of $737 billion in August 2014 before starting to drop.