Iraq: Iraq Lowers Oil Price Forecast in Budget Proposal to $55 a Barrel

Jan 27, 2015 | Reuters
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Falling oil prices forced Iraq's cabinet on Tuesday to revise its draft 2105 budget, trimming its forecast for oil to $55 a barrel from $60.

It trimmed spending to 119 trillion Iraqi dinars ($105 billion) for 2015. Even so, the budget deficit will rise to 25 trillion dinars.

The decision to lower the forecast oil price may satisfy some MPs who saw the previous estimate as unrealistic, but Brentcrude is trading still lower at under $50, down from $115 in June.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said last week he feared lower revenues from falling global oil prices could hurt Iraq's military campaign against Islamic State, which swept across northern Iraq last summer.