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Saudi Arabia has ordered 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets from the UK in a deal worth £4.43 billion, according to the Middle Eastern country's official news agency.

Under the reported deal the price agreed for each plane is similar to the cost of Eurofighters sold to Britain's RAF, the statement on the website of news agency SPA said.

The statement was attributed to an official source at the Saudi Arabian ministry of defence and aviation.

However the UK government has yet to confirm the deal, with a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) insisting that negotiations with the Saudis are still continuing.

She added that talks between the two countries were expected to conclude by the end of the year.

According to reports, additional contracts concerning the supply of weapons and the long-term maintenance of the aircraft will raise the overall value of the Eurofighter deal.

Earlier this month shares in BAE Systems, Europe's biggest defence company, rose after a report claimed that the company could benefit to the tune of £20 billion as part of a deal to supply the fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.

BAE said at the time that it was unable to comment on the anticipated deal, which it said was a matter between the governments of the UK and Saudi Arabia.

Reports previously suggested that the Saudis had threatened to cancel the Eurofighter agreement unless a UK corruption probe into an earlier arms deal, involving BAE, was dropped.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into the 1980s Al Yamamah deal was dropped in December 2006 on the grounds of national security.

However the US department of justice is continuing with a separate investigation into whether BAE made corrupt payments to secure arms contracts in Saudi Arabia.