Saudi Arabia Spends $3.8 Billion on Research, Development

The government recorded the highest percentage of expenditure on research and development (SPA)
The government recorded the highest percentage of expenditure on research and development (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Spends $3.8 Billion on Research, Development

The government recorded the highest percentage of expenditure on research and development (SPA)
The government recorded the highest percentage of expenditure on research and development (SPA)

The total expenditure on research and development in Saudi Arabia reached SR14.5 billion ($3.8 billion) in 2021, the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) revealed on Wednesday in its statistics publication for 2021

Government spending made up 50 percent of the total expenditure on research and development, while the private sector made up 35 percent and the education sector 15 percent.

The data showed that the number of workers in this field reached 30,220, and the number of researchers recorded during 2021 reached 24,808.

The education sector spent 15 percent of its expenditure on research and development. It registered the largest percentage of workers, 25,178, in the field of research and development, or 83 percent of the total number.

The government recorded 2,967 workers, or 10 percent of total workers, while the private sector ranked last with 2,075 workers, or 7 percent, in 2021, according to the publication.



Gold Falls to One-week Low as Dollar Firms after Tariff Deadline Extension

FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
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Gold Falls to One-week Low as Dollar Firms after Tariff Deadline Extension

FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo

Gold prices retreated to a one-week low on Monday as the dollar firmed and traders digested US President Donald Trump's extension of his July 9 tariff deadline to August 1 and assertion that the US is close to several trade deals.

Spot gold was down 0.8% at $3,307.87 an ounce at 1302 GMT after hitting its lowest since June 30 at $3,296.09. US gold futures lost 0.7% to $3,318.

The stronger dollar, up 0.2% against a basket of other major currencies, makes dollar-priced gold more expensive for buyers with other currencies, Reuters reported.

"The market volumes remain quiet at this moment, and price action is probably still just reflecting the latest piece of economic data, but also starting to look forward to the potential for trade deals to be announced," said Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities.

Last week's stronger than expected US payroll data cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut interest rates as early as previously expected.

Minutes of the Fed's latest policy meeting and speeches by several Fed officials are due this week for further insights into the central bank's policy path.

Elsewhere, China's central bank added gold to its reserves in June for an eighth consecutive month, official data from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) showed on Monday.

"The PBoC in particular has been diversifying foreign exchange reserves substantially and an uptick in uncertainty and geopolitical risk may speed up the process," said Zain Vawda, analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA.

In other precious metals, spot silver fell 1.6% to $36.32 an ounce, platinum shed 2.9% to $1,350.97 and palladium lost 3% to $1,100.65.