Saudis 'ban' betting against currency, reports say

Saudi Arabia’s central bank has moved to ban betting against the country’s currency.

Reports in Middle Eastern media outlets and Bloomberg suggest the Saudi Central Bank issued a directive on Sunday, 18 January, ordering banks to curb traders’ ability to bet against the riyal, which has been historically pegged to the dollar for over three decades.

The directive has to be implemented by local banks and Saudi branches of international banks. However, the Central Bank itself has declined comment so far.

The move, aimed at killing speculative trades over the viability of riyal-dollar peg in wake of the oil price slump, follows the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency’s reiteration that the currency peg would be kept in place.