Saudi Arabia has no plan to change its exchange policy or review the association between its national currently and the U.S. dollar, said Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) Hamad Al-Sayyari at a press conference here today to cast light on the annual report of SAMA which he presented to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Jeddah last night. At the outset of the conference, Al-Sayyari said the Saudi national economy has last year achieved good growth rates, particularly in the private sector exceeding 6 percent. Inflation average in 2006 was 2.2 percent but managed to increase to 3.8 % last month, a matter of concern to us, he said, adding that there are two reasons for the increase of inflation: domestically the strong demand and economic activity and externally the increase of imported commodity prices. He pointed out that prices of foodstuffs have internationally increased between September 2006 and September 2007 to nearly 40%. However, the Kingdom is keen to keep equilibrium between inflation control and economic growth, create new jobs, encourage investment and attain a reasonable price level, he added. SAMA governor said that money flow in the Kingdom increased to 18%, matching with an international money flow surge. As for the Kingdom, the move was attributed to government expenditure and strength and growth of economic activity, he said. Current account of the Kingdom is achieving surplus, thanks to several factors, most important of which is the oil market, Al-Sayyari said. He added that this year's budget surplus is expected to be less than last year's due to the increase of government expenditure and developments of international oil market. --More
