Saudi Arabia's M3 money supply falls 0.4 per cent

Saudi Arabia's M3 money supply fell 0.4 per cent in the week to April 2 to SR978.6 billion ($261bn), the central bank said yesterday as the Kingdom begins more frequent financial data releases.

Gulf Arab oil producers have tended to lag in publishing timely and detailed economic data, and cracks have become more exposed since the global financial crisis brought to an end a regional economic boom.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama), which up to now had posted money supply data only on a monthly basis, said it would now post weekly data on its website every Wednesday.

"Sama hopes that the release of these data will achieve the desired goals and help interested professionals follow weekly monetary developments in the Kingdom," it said in a statement.

The last time the UAE, the second-largest Arab economy, posted money supply data was for September, while Qatar last provided money data for August.

"Sama is the only organisation in the region providing near real time data," said Simon Williams, a regional economist at HSBC. "In this economic climate, it's immensely valuable."

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