Oil price slide hits Kuwait government income

KUWAIT CITY: Government revenues in Kuwait dropped 4.4 per cent in the first half of the fiscal yearduetoslidingoilprices,butthe energy-rich emirate still reported a healthy provisional surplus.

OfficialfigurespostedSundayon the finance ministry website put April-September public income at 15.1 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($52.1 billion) compared with 15.8 billion dinars in the same year-ago period.

Oil income, which accounts for 94 per cent of revenues, dropped 5.3 per cent to 14.2 billion dinars in the first halffrom15billiondinarspreviously, according to the new figures.

Despite the fall, the emirate still managedtopostaprovisionalbudget surplus of 9.0 billion dinars.

Spendingwas6.1billiondinars,up 19.6 per cent on last year’s 5.1 billion dinars.

The sharp dive in global oil prices did not reflect fully on the Kuwaiti figures because most of the slump took place in October and deepened in November.

The average price for Kuwaiti oil inApril-Augustwas$103.92abarrel, accordingtoAdnanAbdulsamad,the headoftheparliamentarycommittee on budgets.

Abdulsamad said Wednesday the price for Kuwaiti oil dropped to an average of $95.4 and $84.3 a barrel in September and October, respectively.

The slide has continued this month, with the price of oil closing Friday at $71.40 a barrel, less than the breakeven rate of $75 a barrel estimated in the 2014-2015 budget, according to Kuwait Petroleum Corp.