ADEN: The foreign reserves of Yemen's central bank dropped for the third month in a row in June as the troubled country's import bill continued to grow while revenue from energy exports shrank, the state news agency said on Tuesday.
The Arabian peninsula state, which relies on crude exports to replenish its reserves and finance more than half of budget spending, has suffered from frequent bombings of its main oil pipeline since political turmoil erupted in 2011.
Gross foreign assets held by the central bank dropped by $133 million to $5.7 billion in June, covering 6.1 months of imports, the state news agency Saba said citing central bank figures.
Foreign reserves are being eaten into due to a mounting import bill for petroleum products to fill a local supply gap at a time when revenue from energy exports is no longer sufficient to cover those needs, the agency said.
"In addition, other resources like foreign assistance and investments and tourism revenues are scarce," it said.
The central bank said earlier on Tuesday that Yemen for the first time had paid more for its imports of petroleum products than its revenue from energy exports in the first half of 2013.
The impoverished country is struggling to tame an insurgency and rebuild its economy after years of conflict.
Yemen's oil and gas exports have been affected by attacks on pipelines by Islamist militants or disgruntled tribesmen which have led to fuel shortages and a slump in revenues since 2011.
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