S Arabia posts $98bln deficit

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia´s government ran a record budget deficit of 367 billion riyals ($97.9 billion) in 2015 because of low oil prices, the Council of Economic and Development Affairs said on Monday.

The deficit is "considered an acceptable figure" under the circumstances, with oil languishing at multi-year lows, Hindi bin Abdullah al-Suhaimi, an advisor to the council, told a media briefing.