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| Arabia |
| Soddis to run Obama-sized deficit in 2016 |
| 2015-12-29 |
| Saudi Arabia announced a record budget deficit and cuts to fuel and utility subsidies on Monday as the oil powerhouse suffers from the drastic fall in crude prices. Petrol prices in the kingdom are to rise by more than 50 per cent on some products from today, authorities said, after the world's largest crude exporter said it had posted a deficit of $98 billion in 2015. The price of higher-grade unleaded petrol will rise to 0.90 riyals per litre from 0.60 riyals, a hike of 50 per cent, and for lower-grade petrol to 0.75 riyals from 0.45 riyals per litre, a 67 per cent rise. Riyadh also projected a shortfall of $87 billion in next year's budget. The Finance Ministry said in a statement that revenues in 2015 were estimated at 608 billion riyals ($162 billion), the lowest since 2009 when oil prices dived as a result of the global financial crisis. Income for 2015 was 15 per cent lower than projections and 42 per cent less than in 2014, after oil prices fell by more than 60 per cent since mid-2014 to below $40 a barrel. Spending this year came in at $260 billion, the ministry said, almost equal to 2013 expenditures and down 6.6 per cent from 2014. The 2015 deficit is the highest in the history of Saudi Arabia, which relies on oil for 90 per cent of public revenues, but was not as big as some expected. The International Monetary Fund had projected the 2015 deficit to be around $130 billion and other reports also put it above $100 billion. The 2016 budget projects revenues at $137 billion, the lowest since 2009, and spending at $224 billion, slightly below 2015 projections of $229 billion. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 TW: It didn't just happen, they decided to do it in order to drive those of us in the states out of business. And it is working splendidly. I think they're hoping they can do this for another year and a half and then go to whoever the new president is and say: all your tracking companies are now melting in Chinese furnaces now. How about you do something about Iran and we'll only charge you 150 a barrel, rather than 300? |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2015-12-29 12:47 |
| #2 perhaps a reduction in the number of living Princelings as a budget measure? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2015-12-29 11:35 |
| #1 Couldn't happen to a more deserving country. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2015-12-29 10:06 |