Kuwait posts huge budget surplus

OPEC member Kuwait has posted a provisional budget surplus of $29.5 billion in the first five months of the fiscal year compared to a projected deficit of $21.6 billion on the back of high oil prices. Revenues until August 31 reached $43.1 billion, way above estimates and as high as 88.4 percent of income projected for the 2011/2012 fiscal year, according to figures posted Thursday on the finance ministry's website. Oil income reached $41.1 billion due to sharp increases in crude prices, a value more than 90 percent of the annual estimate of $44.6 billion. Kuwait has calculated oil revenue at a highly conservative price of $60 a barrel while actual average prices have been around $110 a barrel during the period. Provisional spending in the same period came at just $13.6 billion compared to projected expenditures of $70.3 billion. Spending is likely to rise as the year progresses after accounting adjustments are made. Kuwait, currently OPEC's third largest producer with 2.9 million barrels per day, has ended the past 12 fiscal years in the black, amassing surpluses of around $200 billion. National Bank of Kuwait has forecast that Kuwait would post record revenues of up to $113 billion and a budget surplus of around $50 billion due to sharp rises in oil prices and production. Kuwait, which says it sits on 10 percent of proven global crude reserves, has also amassed assets of more than $300 billion run by the Kuwait Investment Authority, the emirate's sovereign wealth fund.