DUBAI: The recent decline in Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserves, a measure of its ability to support its dollar-pegged currency, was partly due to a lag between import payments and export receipts, the Saudi central bank governor told Reuters.
Net foreign assets at the central bank, known as SAMA, dropped monthly by roughly $8 billion to $436 billion in April and dropped further in May, recent central bank data showed, declining to about $433 billion, a level comfortably above what Saudi Arabia would need to protect the peg.
“Reductions in reserves over the past couple of months were mainly to finance a rebound in pandemic-hit import demand, while leads-and-lags in oil income (tax and dividends) cause some degree of fluctuation in SAMA’s reserves level,” said Fahad Al-Mubarak, the governor of the central bank.
“The rebound in import activity, which hit a low figure in May 2020, has preceded that in exports receipts. These shifts are expected given the extraordinary economic impacts over the last 18 months as economic conditions become more normalized,” the governor said in a statement to Reuters.
The value of Saudi imports in April amounted to SR49.1 billion ($13.09 billion), according to the most recent official trade figures. That is up 17.5 percent year-on-year and 33 percent when compared with May last year.
Saudi Arabia tapping reserves to pay for rising imports, SAMA governor says
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Saudi Arabia tapping reserves to pay for rising imports, SAMA governor says
- Net foreign assets at the central bank, known as SAMA, dropped monthly by roughly $8 billion to $436 billion in April
Oman airport passenger traffic rises 2.8% in 2025
RIYADH: Passenger traffic through airports in Oman increased by 2.8 percent in 2025, reaching 14.9 million travelers by the end of December, up from 14.5 million passengers a year earlier, according to data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information and reported by Oman News Agency.
Despite the rise in passenger volumes, total flight movements across the country’s airports declined by 2.8 percent to 104,510 flights in 2025, compared with 107,546 flights during the same period in 2024, indicating higher load factors and network optimization by airlines.
At Muscat International Airport, international flights fell by 4.5 percent to 82,913 in 2025 from 86,797 a year earlier. Nevertheless, international passenger numbers rose by 1.3 percent to 11.8 million, compared with 11.6 million in 2024. Domestic activity at Muscat showed stronger momentum, with flights increasing 6.6 percent to 9,606 from 9,009, while domestic passenger numbers climbed 12 percent to 1.3 million, up from 1.1 million.
At Salalah Airport, international flights declined 2.4 percent to 4,886 in 2025, compared with 5,008 in 2024. International passenger numbers remained broadly stable at 678,591, slightly higher than 678,402 a year earlier. Domestic operations recorded robust growth, with flights rising 14.3 percent to 6,227 from 5,450 and passenger numbers increasing 17.7 percent to 1,023,529, up from 869,954.
Sohar Airport saw a sharp contraction in international traffic, as flights dropped 77.8 percent to 110 in 2025 from 495 in 2024. International passenger numbers plunged 99.1 percent to 390 travelers, compared with 44,897 a year earlier. Domestic flights at Sohar declined 9.1 percent to 150 from 165, while passenger numbers fell 21.8 percent to 18,247, down from 23,331.
At Duqm Airport, domestic flights edged down 0.6 percent to 618 in 2025 from 622 in 2024. Passenger numbers slipped marginally by 0.4 percent to 60,893, compared with 61,137 the previous year.
Overall, the figures reflect steady growth in passenger demand across Oman’s main airports, driven largely by domestic travel, even as airlines reduced flight frequencies during the year.
