Saudi Arabia booked a deficit of $29 billion for the second quarter of the year because of the continued slump in oil prices and oil demand, which affected revenues. Reuters reports the Kingdom’s oil revenues for April to June were down 45 percent on the year, with total budget revenues down 49 percent from a year earlier. Saudi Arabia has taken some austerity steps already in an attempt to rein in public spending and mitigate the impact of the oil crisis on its economy, but it seems more would be needed. “A pullback in spending is essential for containing the deficit,” Reuters quoted Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, as saying. “The proactive stance of the government was already reflected in the austerity measures announced in April. However, these will dampen the recovery outlook.” So far this year the Saudi government has announced a cut in […]