| Saudi Arabia, for instance, has withdrawn tens of billions from global fund managers as it aims to cover its widening budget deficit, to finance the war in Yemen and to reduce its exposure to volatile global equity markets. Fund managers estimate that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) – the kingdom's central bank - has withdrawn between $US50 billion ($71.5 billion) and $US70 billion over the past six months.
This is backed up by official figures that show that since the third quarter of 2014, SAMA's reserves held in foreign securities have dropped by $US71 billion, accounting for the huge bulk of the $US72.8 billion drop in its foreign currency reserves...............................................Full Article: Source
|