No more new cars or furniture, says king as oil slump forces cuts on Saudi Arabia

Secret memo reveals King Salman imposing unprecedented austerity on public-sector budget as oil price languishes at under half of break-even level

The Saudi government has banned official purchases of cars and furniture and slashed travel budgets and infrastructure spending as it faces its gravest fiscal crisis for years because of low oil prices, according to leaked internal government documents.

Secret Saudi policy memos issued by King Salman to the finance minister detail the new economic austerity measures to be implemented across all government ministries. Saudi public finances have been depleted this year by tumbling oil prices to such an extent that the kingdom is expected to run a deficit of at least 20% of GDP in 2015.

Related: Oil price slump turns Saudi surplus into huge deficit, IMF report shows