Muscat: Oman's budget swung to a surplus of 421.2 million riyals ($1.09 billion-Dh4 billion) in the first quarter, helped by higher oil prices, economy ministry data showed yesterday.
Most states in the world's top oil exporting region are expected to run comfortable budget surpluses and continue to increase spending this year as higher oil prices help cement economic recovery.
Oman booked a deficit of 16.6 million riyals in the same period a year ago and a gap of 22.9 million in the two months to the end of February.
The sultanate's revenue jumped 47.9 per cent to 1.996 billion riyals in the three months to the end of March from a year ago, while expenditures were up 15.3 per cent at 1.575 billion, the data showed.
Over the same period, Oman's net oil income doubled to 1.425 billion riyals from 709.2 million a year ago. It sold its oil at an average price of $76.68 per barrel in January-March, up 70.6 per cent from the same period of 2009.
Oil prices fell to three-month lows of $70.8 a barrel on Friday on fears that the euro zone's spending cuts would hit economic recovery and also on record high stockpiles in the United States.
Oman based its 2010 budget on a projected oil price of $50 a barrel and expected a deficit of 800 million riyals given plans to finance a range of infrastructure projects.
