Exchange rate reflects riyal value

Saudi Arabia's government has no reason to change its 2012 economic growth forecast of 5.9 percent, and its exchange rate policy is suitable and reflects the riyal currency's real value, Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf said. "We do not see any reason that (growth) estimates for the rest of the year should change," he told Al-Arabiya television. "The current exchange rate policy in the Kingdom is a suitable one because it encourages growth of the financial sector, trade and investment. The current exchange rate reflects the real value of the riyal." The Kingdom pegs its riyal at 3.75 to the US dollar. Private analysts polled by Reuters in July forecast the Kingdom's economy would expand by 5.2 percent this year. From arabnews