S Arabia bans products betting against riyal peg: sources

Dubai

SAUDI Arabia ordered banks in the kingdom to stop selling some products that allow speculators to bet against its currency peg just days after demanding information from lenders on the offerings, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency (SAMA) sent a circular to banks this week saying that dollar-riyal forward structured contracts are banned with immediate effect, said the people, asking not to be identified because they are not authorised to comment publicly. Forward foreign-currency transactions backed by actual goods and services will still be allowed, the people added.