(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Yemen's gross foreign currency reserves slipped to $4.9bn in October, the lowest level since June, as oil exports fell, exposing the country's fragile public finances, central bank data showed yesterday.
A plunge in oil prices and frequent attacks on oil pipelines by tribesmen have hurt the state budget. As a result, the central bank's foreign reserves dropped to 4.7 months of imports in October from 4.8 months, or $5.1bn in September. The reserves include a $1bn loan from Saudi Arabia, which it provided to Sanaa in 2012.
The central bank governor said on Friday that Riyadh had not asked for an early repayment of the loan and foreign reserves were still sufficient and in line with conditions of a $553m loan agreed by the International Monetary Fund in July.
Crude oil exports, which together with liquefied natural gas account for around 54 percent of government budget revenue, plunged 45.8 percent year-on-year to $115m in October, the lowest level since May, the data showed
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