Saudi foreign reserve assets rise to SAR 1.75T in May

Saudi Arabia's international reserve assets grew by 5%, or SAR 85.5 billion, month-on-month (MoM) to SAR 1.75 trillion in May, according to the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).

On an annual basis, the Kingdom’s foreign reserve assets increased 6%, or SAR 94.8 billion.

Saudi Arabia’s reserve assets include investments in foreign securities, foreign cash and deposits, reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), special drawing rights (SDRs), and monetary gold.

The table below shows development in Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserve assets since 2023:

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Assets
Period	Value (SAR bln)	Monthly Change (SAR bln)	Change
January 2023	1716.2	(8.2)	(0.5%)
February	1697.3	(18.9)	(1%)
March	1645.0	(52.3)	(3%)
April	1612.1	(32.9)	(2%)
May	1658.2	+46.1	3%
June	1662.0	+3.8	0.2%
July	1601.0	(61.0)	(4%)
August	1601.4	+0.4	0.02%
September	1648.1	+46.7	3%
October	1597.4	(50.7)	(3%)
November	1642.5	+45.1	3%
December	1638.4	(4.1)	(0.2%)
January 2024	1646.1	+7.7	0.5%
February	1619.2	(26.9)	(2%)
March	1707.4	+88.2	5%
April	1667.5	(39.9)	(2%)
May	1753.0	+85.5	5%

Foreign currency reserves, representing about 95% of total assets, rose by nearly 6% year-on-year (YoY) in May to SAR 1.66 trillion.

Moreover, IMF reserves dropped 14% YoY, while special drawing rights (SDRs) edged up 0.4% YoY, as shown below:

Foreign Reserve Assets in Details (SAR bln)
Item	May 2023	May 2024	Change
Monetary Gold	1.6	1.6	--
SDRs	77.4	77.7	+0.4%
IMF Reserve Position	14.8	12.7	(14%)
Foreign Currency Reserves	1564.4	1660.9	+6%
Total	1658.2	1753.0	+6%