Riyadh Season Witnesses over $41Mn in Financial Operations

Fireworks light up the Saudi capital as part of the Riyadh Season. (SPA)
Fireworks light up the Saudi capital as part of the Riyadh Season. (SPA)
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Riyadh Season Witnesses over $41Mn in Financial Operations

Fireworks light up the Saudi capital as part of the Riyadh Season. (SPA)
Fireworks light up the Saudi capital as part of the Riyadh Season. (SPA)

The Riyadh Season helped revive financial operations in the Saudi capital with more than 333,000 transactions made through more than 200,000 bank cards at the event, revealed official statistics from the Saudi Payments Network (Mada).

These transactions have amounted to more than SAR156 million (approximately $41.5 million), five percent of which were made by foreign visitors despite their preference to pay in cash.

The Riyadh Season has exceeded economic expectations and helped attract a large number of tourists as demonstrated in the unprecedented high hotel occupancy. Some 100,000 tourists and 5.6 million visitors had attended the festival, said Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority(GEA) Turki Al Sheikh.

Riyadh Season was organized by 280 Saudi companies. It provided 24,000 seasonal jobs and more than 22,000 part-time jobs, he added.

“The Riyadh Season is a national project that has social and economic dimensions,” remarked Economic Advisor Dr. Amer al-Husseini.

He stressed that it is one of the Kingdom’s soft power tools that shows the world the extent of investment opportunities.

Its partnership with international companies promotes the localization of the entertainment and tourism industry in the Kingdom, he noted.

“This festival is one of the great opportunities that can be invested to bolster the national economy and develop financial resources from the productive sectors.”

Husseini added that it also contributes to the creation of permanent and temporary job opportunities, which have a significant role in refining youth skills and enhancing their functional capabilities.

Moreover, he stressed that Saudi Arabia’s emergence on the map of global events will play a role in boosting its relations with other countries.

This openness will allow tourists to learn about the indigenous Saudi national culture and promote partnerships among peoples, he noted.

Riyadh Season ends on December 15.



Oil Prices Slip as Russia Sanctions Stay in Focus

FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas US August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas US August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford//File Photo
TT

Oil Prices Slip as Russia Sanctions Stay in Focus

FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas US August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas US August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford//File Photo

Oil prices slipped on Tuesday from the previous day's four-month highs but the market remained supported by continuing focus on the impact of new US sanctions on Russian oil exports to key buyers India and China.

Brent futures were down 58 cents, or 0.72%, to $80.43 a barrel by 1421 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 62 cents, or 0.79% to $78.20 a barrel, Reuters reported.

Prices jumped 2% on Monday after the US Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas as well as 183 vessels that transport oil as part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet of tankers.

"With several nations seeking alternative fuel supplies in order to adapt to the sanctions, there may be more advances in store, even if prices correct a bit lower should tomorrow's US CPI data come in somewhat hotter-than-expected", said Charalampos Pissouros, senior investment analyst at brokerage XM.

While analysts were still expecting a significant price impact on Russian oil supplies from the fresh sanctions, their effect on the physical market could be less pronounced than what the affected volumes might suggest.

ING analysts estimated the new sanctions had the potential to erase the entire 700,000 barrel-per-day surplus they had forecast for this year, but said the real impact could be lower.

"The actual reduction in flows will likely be less, as Russia and buyers find ways around these sanctions," they said in a note.

Nevertheless, analysts expect less of a supply overhang in the market as a result.

"We anticipate that the latest round of sanctions are more likely to move the market closer to balance this year, with less pressure on demand growth to achieve this," said Panmure Liberum analyst Ashley Kelty.

Uncertainty about demand from major buyer China could blunt the impact of the tighter supply. China's crude oil imports fell in 2024 for the first time in two decades outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, official data showed on Monday.