Saudi Arabia will boost state spending next year despite dwindling foreign reserves as the Kingdom looks to turbo charge economic growth, according to reports.
Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told the Financial Times that Saudi Arabia “would set out an expansionary budget in 2018” to respond to the needs of the struggling private sector, which is reliant on state spending.
The announcement comes as the Saudi Arabian central bank’s foreign reserves continued falling in September, standing at their lowest since April 2011, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, the price of oil continued to climb on international indices, reaching $60 a barrel on the Brent Crude Index for the first time since July 2015. Prices rose after comments about cutting production from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
