The latest edition of the monthly Chartbook from Jadwa Investment finds economic indicators showed improving performance during the month of October this year, citing a “notable improvement” in cash withdrawals from ATMs and POS transactions.
The Riyadh-based bank also noted an $8.2 billion increase (in month-to-month terms) in SAMA FX reserves for the Kingdom, to $493 billion in October. The rise is likely due to a $12.5 billion international sovereign bond issuance in late September, Jadwa noted.
Other economic indicators highlighted in the report:
-Broad measure of money supply (M3) declined marginally by 0.6 percent year-on-year in October, for the first time in 2017. In month-on-month terms, M3 declined by 0.3 percent.
-OPEC and non-OPEC members decided to extend cuts until the end of 2018 in a meeting held on 30th November. We now expect global oil balances to be in deficit by an average of 0.8 mbpd in 2018, which will add upward pressure to oil prices.
-TASI was up 1 percent in November as higher oil prices and solid third quarter listed company results helped lift investor sentiment.
-Q3 2017 listed company results, reported under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), were up on both a yearly and quarterly basis.
In addition to the above observations, the Chartbook includes Jadwa Investment’s monthly update on inflation, Q3 Budget Statement, regional oil market developments, and exchange rates.
[Click here to read the full report from Jadwa Investment] [Arabic]
