The global financial crisis had only a minor impact of the Saudi economy but it is still too soon for countries to scale back stimulus packages aimed at supporting recovery, Saudi Arabia's finance minister told Reuters.

The world's biggest oil exporter, like other nations, has boosted spending on infrastructure, education and healthcare this year seeking to underpin economic growth.

"I believe that the world has seen the worst of the crisis, however, we are still not out of the woods," finance minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf said in an interview in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah.

"Countries need to look at the right timing about when to withdraw, when to implement 'the exit strategy' to start drawing back the stimulus packages ... It is not now, this is not the right time and it has to be country specific," he added.

Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 industrialised nations, meeting in London earlier this month, pledged to coordinate the eventual withdrawal of emergency stimulus but gave few details about what that entailed.

"We have to be careful not to celebrate too soon and to continue the measures and the stimulus packages of each country, whether members of the G20 countries or others, both through the fiscal or monetary policies."    

Assaf said the financial crisis has had only a minor impact on the kingdom's economy, pointing to "healthy growth" in the Saudi non-oil sector.

"The impact was mainly on those sectors that depend on outside demand particularly oil and petrochemicals," he said.

"When the recovery starts in the rest of the world, which we are seeing signs of, the demand as well as the price of oil will recover and we have seen those signs reflected on the current price of oil."    

The finance minister said he was not concerned about inflationary pressures "at this stage."

Oil prices have recovered from lows around $32 a barrel in December 2008 to around $68 on Monday -- well off record highs at $147. The rebound spurred talk that Saudi Arabia may avert its first budget deficit in seven years in 2009.

The Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a July report that the finance ministry was "conservative" in basing its budget outlook on oil at less than $40 a barrel last December amid a price slump.

Al-Assaf said it was too early to tell whether there will be a surplus, noting the budget also included a massive investment program.

"Between the projected deficit and the higher oil price we'll see how we come up at the end of the year."    

"It is too early to tell about the surplus," he said. - Reuters