Yemen's gross foreign currency reserves slipped to $4.9 billion in October, the lowest level since June, as oil exports fell, exposing the country's fragile public finances, central bank data showed on Sunday. A plunge in oil prices and frequent attacks on oil pipelines by tribesmen have hurt the state budget. The impoverished Arabian Peninsula nation has also come under pressure after Saudi Arabia suspended most of its donor aid.
As a result, the central bank's foreign reserves dropped to 4.7 months of imports in October from 4.8 months, or $5.1 billion in September. The reserves include a $1 billion loan from Saudi Arabia, which it provided to Sanaa in 2012.
The central bank governor told Reuters on Friday that Riyadh had not asked for an early repayment of the loan and foreign reserves were still sufficient.
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 $115.0 million in October, the lowest level since May, the data showed.
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