(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia’s King Salman extended the payment of billions of riyals in handouts to citizens to cushion the impact of rising costs as the palace reverts to tried-and-true ways to shore up domestic support following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The cost of living allowance for government employees will be extended for another fiscal year, Saudi Press Agency reported. Al Ekhbariya TV reported that civilian and military employees of the state will again earn 1,000 riyals ($267) a month, while student allowances will surge 10 percent.

The extension of royal handouts was disclosed shortly before Saudi Arabia releases details of its budget later on Tuesday. According to Al Ekhbariya, it was proposed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has become the target of international outrage since Khashoggi’s Oct. 2 murder in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.

The one-year allowance payments were initially launched in January to blunt the impact of economic reforms, including subsidy cuts and a new value-added tax, championed by the prince under his ambitious proposal to wean Saudi Arabia off oil. At the time, officials said the measures would cost the government more than 50 billion riyals. The International Monetary Fund forecast in August that the budget deficit will narrow to below 2 percent of GDP next year -- assuming the allowances aren’t renewed.

A preliminary version of the Saudi budget was released in September.

To contact the reporter on this story: Zainab Fattah in Dubai at zfattah@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Paul Abelsky

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.