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by gaukes 2243 days ago
Ya, and they were diversifying into tourism which is also bust.

I’m sure they’ll survive though. Their wealth is in the trillions.

3 comments

The Saudi budget is a quarter of a trillion dollars. “Trillions” doesn’t last very long at those levels.
Sounds like at least 4-5 years.
+ increased borrowing costs as the deficits begin to worry investors.
Saudis aren’t exactly known for their adherence to austerity.
They will have to make due with BMW and Mercedes Benz.
Foreign reserves are only about 1/2 trillion and dropped about 5% last month. They aren’t in the best position, and the longer this goes on, the more the downside accelerates. Once people think you’ll run out soon, you’re screwed.

At these prices, SA can’t just turn oil into dollars (well, not many dollars anyway).

[0] - https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200430-saudi-foreign-res...

I imagine that foreign creditors will allow KSA to get much closer to 0 than they’d allow most other countries because KSA has a clearer path to repayment; bow out of the current oil production spat with Russia. But spending down 5% in one month is alarming.