DUBAI, April 28 (Reuters) - The net foreign assets of Saudi Arabia’s central bank dropped 1.0 percent from the previous month to 2.17 trillion riyals ($579 billion) in March, central bank data showed on Thursday.

Assets fell 16.2 percent from a year earlier to their lowest level since April 2012. They reached a record high of $737 billion in August 2014 before starting to shrink.

The central bank, which serves as Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has been drawing down its assets to cover a huge state budget deficit caused by low oil prices. (Reporting by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Hugh Lawson)