Kuwait's 10-month fiscal deficit narrows to $3.59bln

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Figures for the first 10 months of the current fiscal year (FY2023/24) show Kuwait's year-to-date fiscal deficit narrowing by KD635 million ($2.075 billion) from the 9-month balance in December to KD1.1 billion ($3.595 billion) in January, a report said.

The narrowing was due to a jump in oil revenues (+15% m/m to KD16.4 billion YTD) and higher non-oil revenues (+24% m/m to KD1.45 billion), which together more than offset the monthly increase in expenditures (+10% m/m to KD18.9 billion), the report by NBK Economic Research said.

Within expenditures, capital spending came in at KD821 million (+15% m/m), remaining low by historical standards and accounting for only 45% of the government’s full-year budget allocation of KD1.8 billion, the report said.

The cumulative expenditure figure represents 72% of the full-year budget allocation with two months still to be published. The deficit will most likely widen by the close of the fiscal year (end-March) on higher spending in March, given typical historic spending patterns. The bank estimates a deficit of more than KD3billion given that around KD7 billion in budgeted spending remains unspent, it said.