Rising oil break-even prices to take toll on Gulf's public spending - The National

Rising oil break-even prices to take toll on Gulf's public spending - The National:

"The days of elevated public spending in the GCC may be numbered, say economists, as governments begin to wake up to an era of fiscal constraints and a changing oil market.

Half of the GCC - Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain - is forecast to be posting budget deficits by 2015. The surpluses of the other half - UAE, Qatar and Kuwait - are expected to be increasingly squeezed.

The worsening fiscal position is a reflection of an anticipated drift in oil prices in the next two years as demand growth wanes. Beyond that, the gradual ramp-up in the US shale gas revolution will further soften demand, say analysts."

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