Saudi Arabia is returning to the bond market with a plan to raise $27bn by the end of the year, in the starkest¹ sign yet of the strain lower oil prices are putting on the finances of the world’s largest oil exporter.

沙特阿拉伯正重返债券市场，计划在今年年底前筹集270亿美元。这是迄今最明确的迹象，表明油价下跌使全球最大石油出口国财政紧张。

Bankers say the kingdom’s central bank has been sounding out demand for an issuance of around 20bn Saudi riyals ($5.3bn) a month in bonds — in tranches of five, seven and ten years — for the rest of the year.

银行家们表示，沙特近来在询问需求，拟在今年余下时间每月发行约200亿沙特里亚尔（约合53亿美元）债券，分为五年期、七年期和十年期。

Fahad al-Mubarak, the governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary² Agency (Sama), said in July that Riyadh had already issued its first $4bn in local bonds, the first sovereign issuance since 2007. But the latest plans represent a major expansion of that programme, which bankers believe could even extend into 2016, given the outlook for the oil price.

沙特阿拉伯货币局(SAMA)局长法赫德?穆巴拉克(Fahad al-Mubarak)在7月表示，利雅得方面已经以地方债形式发行了第一笔40亿美元债券，这是自2007年以来沙特政府首次发行主权债券。但沙特最新的发债计划表明该计划将大举扩大，鉴于油价前景，银行家们认为发债甚至可能延续到2016年。

Saudi Arabia’s resort to further domestic borrowing highlights the challenges facing the region’s largest economy amid one of the steepest falls in the oil price in recent decades. Brent, the international benchmark, has dropped from $115 a barrel in June last year to around $50 this week.

沙特阿拉伯求助于进一步国内借贷，凸显中东最大经济体在近几十年来油价最大幅度下跌期间面临的挑战。国际基准布伦特(Brent)原油价格已从去年6月每桶115美元，下降到本周的每桶50美元左右。

Oil’s decline accelerated last November when Opec, the producers’ cartel, decided³ not to cut output, a major departure from its traditional policy of trimming production to prop⁴ up prices. Saudi Arabia said it was an attempt to defend market share.

石油价格去年11月加速下跌，当时，石油生产国卡特尔——欧佩克(Opec)决定不减产，这严重背离了其传统政策——为支撑油价而减产。沙特表示，这是捍卫市场份额的一次尝试。

But the decision to ride out a sustained period of lower prices has put a huge strain on the finances of major oil exporters, including Saudi Arabia, which requires an oil price of $105 a barrel to balance its budget.

但是，试图挺过油价持续低迷的决定，对各大石油出口国造成了巨大的财政压力，沙特本身也不例外，该国需要油价保持在每桶105美元才能平衡本国预算。

The kingdom has drained $65bn of its fiscal⁵ reserves to maintain government spending since the oil price plunge⁶ began. Sama has $672bn in foreign reserves, down from a peak of $737bn last August. The plan to resort to capital markets, if confirmed, demonstrates the priority Riyadh is placing on maintaining government spending, despite the pressure cheap oil is putting on its budget. The monthly bond issuance plan would only cover part of the deficit⁷, which economists⁸ estimate will reach 400bn Saudi riyals this year amid falling revenues and continuing high expenditure⁹ on infrastructure¹⁰ projects, public sector¹¹ wages and the war in Yemen.

自油价开始暴跌以来，沙特动用了650亿美元财政储备以维持政府开支。沙特货币局拥有6720亿美元的外汇储备，低于去年8月时7370亿美元的峰值。这项求助资本市场的计划（如果被证实）表明，利雅得优先考虑的是维持政府支出，尽管油价下跌对预算造成压力。这项月度债券发行计划只能填补部分赤字。经济学家估计，由于财政收入减少、基础设施项目持续的高支出、公共部门工资以及也门的战争，沙特今年的赤字将达到4000亿沙特里亚尔。

“This is all about rebalancing away from the reserves — using some debt to help make up the budget deficit,” said one banker aware of the plan.

一名了解该计划的银行家称：“这完全关乎再平衡——利用债务弥补一部分预算赤字，减少消耗外汇储备。”