Kuwait Expects $50-60 Oil

Kuwait's finance minister and acting oil minister Anas al-Saleh sees crude oil prices at $50 to $60 a barrel within the next 15 months, Reuters reported on Sunday. Saleh made his comments in an interview that was aired on Kuwait's al-Rai television late on Saturday. "We expect to see the level of $60, meaning $50 to $60, and we will be within this range in the next 15 months," Saleh said. Saleh also said there were serious efforts being made to balance prices at a level that serves both the producer and the consumer, and pointed to Sunday's (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council oil ministers' meeting due to take place in Riyadh with the presence of the Russian energy minister. Despite recent improvement in oil prices and the adoption of consolidation measures, projected fiscal deficits of (P)GCC countries remain large in both the short and medium term, according to the International Monetary Fund’s latest regional economic outlook. Cumulative fiscal deficits during 2016–21 are forecast to be about $765 billion, down from $1.1 trillion in April 2016.