Saudi Arabia’s foreign exchange reserves are expected to rise to $581 billion by the end of this year, from $451.7 billion in April, as the world’s largest crude exporter benefits from higher oil prices, according to Jadwa Investment.
In a research note published by The National, Asad Khan, chief economist and head of research at Jadwa, said foreign reserves at the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) rose by $300 million per month in April.
Khan explained that the rise “came mostly from bank deposits – up $3.1 billion (in April) – While foreign securities decreased by $2.3 billion during the month.
The kingdom pumped 10.4 million barrels of crude oil per day in April, in line with levels agreed upon by the 23-nation “OPEC +” alliance, which has been sponsoring the global oil market since 2016.
That was just above the 10.3 million barrels per day pumped in March, which earned the country about $30 billion that month, according to Bloomberg data.
With oil prices rising more than 70 percent since last year, Saudi is set to be the “biggest beneficiary in absolute terms” this year among oil-producing nations, and is expected to reap about $400 billion from its primary industry in 2022. That’s about $250 billion more than in 2021, energy consultancy Rystad Energy said in a report in April.
Jadwa expects the kingdom’s oil export revenues to amount to $342 billion this year. Oil prices have risen on the back of market tightening, lack of investment in the energy industry and Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine.
