Oman’s Sultan ratified a 2023 budget with a deficit of RO1.3 billion ($3.38 billion) or three per cent of GDP, the finance ministry said on Sunday, adding that the 2022 budget achieved a surplus of RO1.146. The 2023 budget sees revenues of RO10.05 billion, five per cent lower than 2022, and expenditures of RO11.35 billion, 6.4 per cent lower the previous year. Higher oil prices boosted 2022 revenues to RO14.234 billion, the finance ministry said. Last year’s budget had been based on a forecast price of $50 per barrel but the government now estimates the average price in 2022 to be $94. The 2023 budget is based on a price of $55 per barrel. Public spending in 2022 was RO13.088 billion, the ministry said. The surplus allowed the government to reduce public debt from RO20.8 billion in 2021 to RO17.7 billion in 2022. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Oman, one of the Gulf’s weaker economies, to post fiscal and external surpluses over the medium term, due mainly to higher oil revenue, fiscal discipline and the introduction of value added tax. Last month, S&P Global upgraded Oman’s credit rating to BB, from BB-, on improved fiscal performance and lower public debt. –