IT'S AN IDEAL OPPORTUNITY TO IMPOSE A CONFISCATORY GAS TAX:

Saudi Arabia is bracing for a coronavirus-led economic dip on top of possible austerity measures as crude prices go into free fall, as Republican Senators sent a letter to Mohammed bin Salman over his decision to increase oil production. 

Huge losses are expected after the Arab world's biggest economy shut down cinemas, malls and restaurants, halted flights, suspended the year-round umrah pilgrimage and locked down the eastern Qatif region - home to around 500,000 - in a bid to contain the deadly virus.

The top crude exporter also faces plummeting oil prices, which slipped below $30 a barrel this week for the first time in four years, on the back of sagging demand and a price war with Russia.

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