By: Mohamed Idris

Riyadh – Mubasher: Every decision taken by the US Federal Reserve regarding interest rates is studied and its impact on Saudi Arabia is analysed even before the official decision is taken, vice governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) said on Tuesday.

Speaking on the sidelines for the First GCC Statistical Forum in Riyadh, Abdulaziz bin Saleh bin Othman Al Furaih told Mubasher that historically, SAMA has always kept pace with the Fed's changes and decisions.

SAMA has a policy which enables it to analyse economic conditions and determine how to deal with the Fed's interest rate increases, Al Furaih added.

A decision by SAMA is usually taken after the Fed's announcement, he said.

On 15 March, SAMA decided to raise the reverse repo rate from 75 basis points (bps) to 100 bps with immediate effect.

"The repo rate remains unchanged at 200 bps. This move is in line with recent developments in domestic and international financial markets," SAMA said in a statement published on its official website.

SAMA's decision followed a similar one by the US Fed to increase core interest rates by 25 bps or by 0.25% to between 0.75% and 1.0% for the first time in 2017.

The First GCC Statistical Forum commenced Monday and will end on Wednesday, 22 March 2017.

Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi