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Kuwait revenue hit by oil price plunge

The figure compares to the highest monthly income of 12.9 billion dollars posted in August a month after oil prices peaked at more than 147 dollars before sliding to around 40 dollars.

Oil income makes up more than 90 percent of public revenue in the Gulf state which sits on 10 percent of global crude reserves and pumps around 2.2 million barrels per day.

Kuwait posted revenues of 19.2 billion dinars (66.2 billion dollars) in the first 10 months of the fiscal year, which ends March 31, thanks to high oil income in the first half of the year, the ministry's website said.

The revenues are 51.5 percent higher than the budget target and slightly exceed projected spending for the whole year.

Kuwait has projected spending at least 18.996 billion dinars (65.4 billion dollars) and revenues at 12.68 billion dinars (43.7 billion dollars) during the fiscal year.

Oil revenues up to the end of January came at 18.13 billion dinars (62.5 billion dollars), up 55.6 percent on the budget target for the whole year.

Spending up to January was 10.5 billion dinars, just 55 percent of budgeted outlays for the whole year.

This leaves the oil-rich emirate with a provisional budget surplus of 8.7 billion dinars (30 billion dollars) in the first 10 months of the year.

The surplus is expected to shrink considerably when the finance ministry makes the end-year accounting adjustments by including pledged spending which has not been registered so far.

The results, however, put OPEC's fourth largest producer well on track to post a budget surplus for the 10th year straight.

Local economic reports have said the budget surplus will be much smaller than initially forecasted, and it is now estimated at around 10 billion dollars -- down from the expected 40 billion dollars.

Kuwait plans to cut spending in its 2009-2010 budget by a massive 36 percent and is projecting a huge deficit of 4.25 billion dinars.

The emirate's estimated 300-billion-dollar foreign investments have also lost about 31 billion dollars due to the global economic downturn.

Based on official figures compiled by AFP, Kuwait has chalked up a total budget surplus of 113 billion dollars over the past nine fiscal years, starting with the 1999-2000 year.