Iraq parliament cuts budget due to falling oil price
Iraq’s parliament has approved the country’s 2015 budget, cutting it by almost USD 6 billion due to falling oil prices.
The Iraqi lawmakers on Thursday ratified the budget worth 119 trillion Iraqi dinars or USD 99.6 billion, which is lowered from the USD 105.5 billion draft proposed earlier.
The budget is based on USD 56 a barrel of crude, down from USD 70 a barrel estimated in earlier drafts.
Despite lower projected oil revenues,, the budget foresees a USD 21.1 billion deficit.
The vote on the 2015 budget marked a step forward as Iraq did not manage to push through a budget last year amid arguments between the Baghdad government and the autonomous Kurdish region over certain issues, including shares of oil sales.
Iraq, which is almost entirely oil-dependent for its revenue, is facing challenges due to falling oil prices over the past few months.
On Friday, oil prices moved down in early trading following slight rises in the previous sessions.
Benchmark Brent crude oil opened at USD 49.15 a barrel, but fell to USD 48.95 later.
Meanwhile, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was traded at USD 44.56 a barrel, almost unchanged.
Oil prices have plunged about 60 percent since June last year.
The steep falls in prices are caused by slowing global economic growth, an oversupply of the black gold and the unlikely chance that the intergovernmental Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) might cut crude output.
AR/NN/KA
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