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Kuwait oil revenues may score KWD 30.5 bln in FY14/15 - report

Kuwait oil revenues may score KWD 30.5 bln in FY14/15 - report
By the end of June 2014, the First Quarter of the current fiscal year 2014/2015 ended and oil prices remained above US$ 100 per barrel for the 12th consecutive month since July 2013. The average price for the Kuwaiti crude for June scored about USD 106.3 per barrel, which is USD 31.3 per barrel, 41.7%, higher than the new hypothetical price estimated for the current budget at US 75 per barrel. The average Kuwaiti barrel of oil price in June 2013 scored USD 99.8 per barrel. The last fiscal year 2013/2014, which ended in the end of last March, scored an average oil price by USD 103.5 per barrel , Al Shall Economic Consultants Company's Economic Research Unit said in a report released Saturday.. The last sharp rise in the oil price is due to geopolitical reasons after the sudden emergence of Daesh and its rapid control over a quarter of Iraq’s land and fears about the Iraqi oil exports estimated at 3 million barrels/day without considering Kurdistan oil. The extraordinary thing is the rally of all conflicting regional positions against Daesh. Kuwait was supposed to achieve oil revenues at June amounting to KD 2.6 billion. Assuming production and prices would continue at their present levels -an assumption which may take place- it is expected that the value of potential oil revenues for the entire current fiscal year would score about KD 30.5 billion, which is higher by about KD 11.7 billion than budget estimates. Adding around KD 2.2 billion in non-oil revenues, in accordance with the actual collection for last FY but not the estimated for the current FY, total budget revenues for the current fiscal year would score KD 32.7 billion. Comparing this figure with the actual expenditures obligations of about KD 21.8 billion and assuming 9% saving as in FY 2012/2013, total actual expenses will be about KD 19.8 billion. Therefore, the general budget for the fiscal year 2014/2015 would score about KD 13-14 billion. If that happens, this year will by the 16th fiscal year in a row which achieves surplus. Kuwait was supposed to achieve actual surplus for FY 2013-2014 by about KD 13 billion. We remind and repeat that replacing the oil asset with a monetary asset is not considered surplus in the general finance science. We borrow the term, which is wrong; the true meaning of surplus is what results from increasing tax revenues on economic activities over the public expenditures, which is a sustainable case.