Saudi Arabia’s central bank said it is infusing 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion) into commercial banks. Besides, it is also introducing two new money market instruments to fight an increase in market interest rates caused by low oil prices. The central bank will bring in the funds in the form of time deposits on behalf of government entities. It will also introduce seven- and 28-day repurchase agreements to lend money to banks when needed. Previously, the central bank has typically only used repo agreements with one-day maturities. Total deposits in Saudi commercial banks, which grew continuously for years, were down 3.3% in June from a year earlier.
