RIYADH — The Kingdom's reserve assets rose by 1.73 percent, equivalent to SR28.68 billion by the end of last March 2020, to reach SR1.683 trillion ($448.9 billion), compared to SR1.65 trillion ($441.3 billion) by the end of February 2021. The monthly bulletin for the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) showed a 5 percent decline in reserves by the end of last March, compared to March 2020, when the reserve level was SR1.77 trillion ($473.4 billion). This rise came on a monthly basis, with support from the increase in investments in securities abroad, the largest share in reserves at 67 percent, after increasing the securities to approximately SR1.124 trillion by the end of last March, compared to about SR1.122 trillion by the end of February 2021. The total reserve assets include gold, Special Withdrawal Rights (SDRs), the reserve at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), foreign exchange and deposits abroad, in addition to investments in securities abroad. The rise in reserve assets by the end of March 2021, came on a monthly basis, with support as well by increasing the foreign exchange and deposits abroad to approximately SR513.6 billion, compared to SR486 billion by the end of February 2021, with an increase of 5.7 percent.
