OPEC member Algeria will post a 41.7b euro ($51.2b) deficit next year due to the sharp fall in oil prices, according to a budget bill signed Tuesday by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, AFP reported. The budget law envisions revenues of 46.9b euros and outlays of 88.6b euros, an increase of 15.7% on this year, for a deficit equivalent to 22.1% of GDP. But the price per barrel used for revenue calculations is $37, sharply below the latest record low for Brent North Sea crude of $56.74. The North African nation, which generates 95% of its export revenue and 60% of government income from hydrocarbons, is being hit by the recent collapse in oil prices.
