Ghana to Revise its 2016 Budget Amid Crude Price Fall

Ghana to Revise its 2016 Budget Amid Crude Price Fall

Ghana may have to revise its 2016 budget after the collapse in oil prices, Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, said, giving no specific figures, Reuters reported. The minister added that the government had originally based the budget on a projected average figure of $53 per barrel for Brent crude, while Brent oil is now trading at around $30 a barrel. 

Oil is one of Ghana’s major exports, along with cocoa and gold. The country produces about 100,000b/d of crude. According to the finance minister, the government will revise the budget to come in line with its initial targets for growth of 5.4% GDP in 2016, up from 4.1% last year. Ghana also aims at reducing inflation to 10%, down from 17.7% in 2015, the minister explained. Provisional figures showed the fiscal deficit at 7.0% at the end of 2015, lower than an initial target of 7.3%. The average crude price this year would need to be about 75% higher than the today’s price  for Ghana to meet its fiscal deficit target for 2016, according to Bloomberg.

Other oil producing countries around the world are also revising their budgets after crude fell to the lowest since 2002 in January, sapping revenue needed to meet fiscal goals.

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