Muscat: Oman’s 2019 general budget has been unveiled with higher oil revenues, modest prudent spending and a prudent deficit.
According to the budget estimates, spending is projected to increase modestly to RO 12.9 billion in the current fiscal with an increase of RO 400 million from the estimated expenditure for 2018.
While total revenues are estimated at RO 10.1 billion, the budget is based on a conservative oil price of $58 per barrel, which is almost near to the average price realised during the first 10 months of 2018.
The expected oil price is higher than the $55 per barrel assumed in the ninth five-year plan.
The budget leaves the deficit on track with RO 2.8 billion or 9 per cent of the GDP. The budget predicts that 86 per cent of the deficit will be financed by foreign and domestic borrowings.
The remaining deficit will be financed through the withdrawal from reserves. In the first 10 months of 2018, the government ran a deficit of RO 2.04 billion.
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