Saudi Arabia exported 1.4 billion barrels of oil in the first half of the current year for a total revenue value of SAR305 billion ($81.33 billion), according to latest figures. These revenue figures are down about 46% from the same period last year.
The Kingdom also consumed about 23% of all the oil it produced for domestic use. The consumption came at costs for gasoline found to be the lowest in the region.
The shortfall caused net foreign assets at Saudi Arabia’s central bank to fall to 2.521 trillion riyals ($672.2 billion) in May, a drop of $6.6 billion or roughly 1 percent from the previous month, according to Reuters. Net foreign assets continued a decline from previous months as rising spending is not met with rising revenue.
According to Reuters, assets fell by $11.8 billion in April from the previous month, by $16.0 billion in March and by $20.2 billion in February. They peaked at a record $737 billion last August.
