Kuwait Budget Surplus May Reach $42 Billion This Year, NBK Says - Bloomberg

Kuwait may post a budget surplus of as much as 11.4 billion dinars ($41.8 billion) based on projections that average oil prices will be between $104 and $112 a barrel for the whole of this fiscal year, the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said.

The government is projecting a budget deficit of 6 billion dinars in the current fiscal year which ends on March 31, based on an oil price of $60 a barrel. Spending is forecast at 19.4 billion dinars, the highest in Kuwait’s history, and revenue at 13.5 billion dinars.

“If, as we expect, spending comes in at 5 to 10 percent below the government’s forecast, the budget could see a surplus of between 7.3 billion dinars and 11.4 billion dinars,” the country’s largest commercial bank forecast in an e-mailed report today. NBK’s estimates are before the allocation of 10 percent of revenue in the Reserve Fund for Future Generations as required by law.

* username: rupertbu