Mubasher: Kuwait’s budget deficit in the current fiscal year (FY) is likely to reach between KWD 3.5 billion to KWD 4 billion when the final account is issued, according to a recent report by Al Shall Consulting.
The budget scored a deficit of about KWD 1.419 billion at the end of the first eight months of FY 2017/2018 before deducting the 10% of revenues for the future generations’ reserve.
Al Shall Consulting posted that deficit figure depends basically on oil prices and its production for the remaining four months of FY17/18, the report highlighted.
Kuwait’s total collected revenues stood at KWD 9.831 billion at the end of the eighth month of FY17/18, accounting for about 73.7% of the total estimated revenues of KWD 13.344 billion for the whole current fiscal year, according to the Ministry of Finance’s monthly bulletin.
Actual oil revenues amounted to KWD 8.927 billion at the end of November 2017, representing 76.2% of estimated oil revenues of KWD 11.711 billion for FY17/18, or about 90.8% of total collected revenues.
The average Kuwaiti oil price reached $50.4 per barrel for the first half of the current fiscal year, the bulletin added.
An amount of KWD 904.578 million was allocated from non-oil revenues during H1 of FY27/18 at a monthly average by KWD 113.072 million, while the total estimated amount for the entire current fiscal year was about KD 1.634 billion, the bulletin indicated.
“This means the realized amount will be less for the entire current fiscal year by about KD -277 million than the estimated if it continues by the same level,” the bulletin said.
Expenditure allocations for FY17/18 were estimated at around KWD 19.9 billion, of which an amount of KWD 9.976 billion was actually spent until November 2017, according to the bulletin.
“An amount of KWD 1.274 billion was obligated and is deemed spent. Thus, total actual expenses scored about KWD 11.250 billion, an average by KD 1.406 billion per month,” the report pointed out.
