KUWAIT CITY, 23 February 2006 — Income of oil-rich Kuwait surged to a record high of 11.18 billion dinars ($38.3 billion) in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, the Finance Ministry said yesterday.
The figure is 55 percent up on the $22.5 billion posted in the same period last year and is almost two-and-a-half-times more than budget estimates of $15.7 billion for the whole year which ends March 31. Oil revenues soared by 60 percent to $36.3 billion due to a sharp rise in the price of Kuwaiti oil and a six percent increase in production, according to figures published on the ministry’s website. Non-oil revenues remained unchanged at $2 billion, it said.
Oil income had been calculated at a conservative price of $21 a barrel, while average price of Kuwaiti crude has topped $50. Last month, the price hit an all-time high of more than $58. Kuwait has been pumping around 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd), above its OPEC quota of 2.247 million bpd. Spending in the first 10 months was 3.8 billion dinars ($13 billion) but the figure is certain to rise sharply after year-end accounting adjustments.
