Oman May Use Reserves to Fund 2010 Budget Gap

Oman will finance its planned US$2.08 billion budget deficit for 2010 from its reserve funds if needed, the country's economy minister said. The oil producer, a nonـmember of the OPEC raised spending by 12% in this year's budget on prospects of higher oil prices to finance a range of infrastructure projects. "The US$2 billion deficit in 2010 will be financed by a withdrawal from our reserve funds," Economy Minister Ahmed Mekki said.

"However, we expect the average oil prices to stay above what we forecast for this year's budget," he added. Oman based its 2010 budget on a conservative estimate of an average oil price of US$50 per barrel with a total expenditure of US$18 billion. Crude oil trades at around US$79 per barrel. The sultanate's central bank said this month there were no plans to issue government bonds in 2010. - Al Watan