| Kippreport.com

Kuwait’s money matters

February 9, 2010 3:53 by Aarti Nagraj

Kuwait is expected to post a surplus of $24 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, despite forecasting to see a deficit, according to a report released by the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), reports AFP.

The NBK report said that the country’s revenues were projected to reach $61.8 billion in the year, much higher than budget projections of $28.1 billion, mainly because of the increasing oil prices.

Kuwait based its budget on an oil price of $35 per barrel, but the average oil price for the year is expected to reach around $69.5 per barrel, according to the report. Hence Kuwait’s oil revenue forecast of $24.1 billion is much less than the $57.8 billion it is anticipated to earn during the period, said NBK. Oil income contributes to about 94 percent of total revenue.

But the country is now forecasting a deficit of about $26 billion for the next fiscal year, Khalifa Hamada, the undersecretary of Kuwait’s finance ministry, told Zawya Dow Jones on Tuesday.

The ministry is expecting to spend about $56.1 billion during the year, and is projecting revenues of around $29.8 billion, Hamada said. The budget will be based on an oil price of $43 a barrel, he added.

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Tags: budget, deficit, development, Economy, Kuwait, oil prices, surplus