Kuwait 10-Month Budget Surplus At $60.5bn

Kuwait had a budget surplus of KD17.2 billion ($60.5 billion) in the first ten months of its fiscal year, preliminary budget data showed on Wednesday, thanks to robust oil income and lower-than-expected public spending.

The government spent KD9.8 billion in the ten months to the end of January, less than half of the KD21.2 billion originally earmarked for the period, a report posted on the Finance Ministry’s website showed.

Income was KD27 billion, much higher than the KD13.9 billion which had been predicted. Oil revenues were KD25.5 billion, or 94 per cent of the income, the data showed.

The ten-month surplus is equivalent to around 39 per cent of the Gulf state’s 2011 gross domestic product, according to a Reuters calculation based on the latest official data.

A Reuters poll in September forecast that Kuwait would record a budget surplus of 25 per cent of GDP in fiscal year 2012/13, which began in April. The cabinet approved a revised budget for the current fiscal year in October.

High global oil prices have boosted Kuwait’s revenue, while domestic political tensions have limited spending by delaying work on major parts of a KD30 billion infrastructure building and economic development plan announced in late 2010.

However, in the last few months there have been signs that the government has found ways to move ahead with some projects, which could reduce the budget surplus.

“With reported spending likely to accelerate further in coming months, we expect the budget to close the year at a lower KD14 billion – still an all-time high,” National Bank of Kuwait wrote in a research note.