DUBAI - Saudi Arabia's finance minister said on Wednesday that July data is promising for an economic recovery, though many uncertainties remain, and economic contraction will likely be less than the 6.8% predicted by the International Monetary Fund.

The kingdom has issued significantly more local debt this year than planned and spending in the budget announced in December will probably remain unchanged, but with reallocations to some sectors, Mohammed al-Jadaan said at a Bloomberg event.

He said the needs of Saudi Arabia's economy are being assessed and whatever support is needed will be provided to ensure recovery. He added that an income tax would require a lot of time to prepare and there is no imminent plan to implement it, though he did not rule it out.

(Reporting by Davide Barbuscia and Marwa Rashad; Writing by Yousef Saba; Editing by Toby Chopra) ((Yousef.Saba@thomsonreuters.com; +971562166204))