DUBAI, 20 December 2004 — The Gulf Arab states are expecting a windfall this year thanks to high oil revenue, but the region’s economies are pushed to absorb the abundant liquidity given the limited investment opportunities. “It’s an exceptional year for all the Gulf Cooperation Council states which have earned a budget surplus,” after predicting deficits, Jassim Al-Saadun, head of Kuwait’s Al-Shall Economic Consultants, told AFP. Oil revenues of the GCC, which groups Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), grew some 35 percent this year thanks to a 25 percent rise in record crude prices and a 10 to 15 percent increase in production, said Saadun.