Saudi stands by its growth predictions

Saudi Riyal

Saudio Arabia's Finance Minister, Ibrahim Alassaf, says the country has no reason to change its 2012 economic growth forecast of 5.9 percent

He also sees its exchange rate policy as suitable reflecting the riyal currency's real value.

"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 world's top crude oil exporter pegs its riyal at 3.75 to the U.S. dollar.

Private analysts polled by Reuters in July forecast the kingdom's hydrocarbon-reliant economy would expand by 5.2 percent this year, less than a revised 7.1 percent posted in 2011 due to a global economic slowdown.