Kuwait City: Opec member Kuwait posted a budget surplus of $22.4 billion (Dh82 billion) in the past fiscal year on the back of strong oil revenues, an economic report said Sunday, citing official figures.
It is the third largest windfall in the Gulf state's history and its 11th consecutive year of budget surpluses, which have allowed Kuwait to accumulate $145 billion in public revenues, according to AFP calculations based on official figures.
Projections
In the 2007-2008 fiscal year, Kuwait posted its largest-ever budget surplus of $32.3 billion, while in the previous fiscal year it posted a surplus of around $24 billion.
The state posted actual revenues of $61.5 billion in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, up 119 per cent on budget projections of $28.1 billion, Al Shall Economic Consultants said, citing finance ministry figures.
However, the figure is down on the record 2008-2009 income of $72.3 billion due to a drop in oil prices and lower output because of Opec quotas.
Actual spending after end-of-year accounting adjustments hit $39.1 billion, lower than budget projections of $42.1 billion and spending in the previous year of $63.6 billion.
Kuwait's oil income last year - which formed almost 94 per cent of public revenues - reached $57.6 billion, compared to $68.1 billion the previous year, and up from $24.1 billion estimated in the 2009-2010 budget.
Kuwait tends to forecast its public revenues based on conservative oil prices, and calculated its oil income last year on a price of $35 a barrel while the actual price for the year averaged around $70.
The annual rate of inflation in Kuwait rose to 3.4 per cent in June, from 2.9 per cent in May.
