KUWAIT has posted an actual budget surplus of $11 billion in the 2004/2005 fiscal year which ended March 31, its sixth straight year of windfall, Finance Minister Bader Mishari Al Humaidhi said.

He said actual revenues for the year hit a record KD8.9 billion ($30.5 billion) while spending reached KD5.7 billion ($19.5 billion).
Income was almost three times higher than budget projections of $11.25 billion while spending was around nine per cent lower than budget estimates of $21.35 billion.
Actual oil income reached $27.8 billion or 91 per cent of total revenues, three times higher than budget estimates of $9.3 billion.
Oil revenues were calculated at a price of $15 a barrel at a daily production of two million barrels per day (bpd), while actual average price was $35.5 a barrel and production was about 2.5 million bpd.
Non-oil revenues came in at $2.7 billion.
By law 10 per cent of total revenues, in this case about $3 billion, is deducted in favour of the Kuwait Fund for Future Generations (KFFG), whose assets are estimated at $80 billion.
Between fiscal years 1999/2000 to 2003/2004, Kuwait accumulated $21 billion in budget surplus.
Kuwait’s parliament recently passed the budget for the current fiscal year 2005/2006 projecting a deficit of $9 billion.
Revenues were calculated at a conservative price for oil of $21 a barrel and a daily production of two million barrels.
But independent economic reports have predicted Kuwait will post a surplus in excess of $20 billion since Kuwaiti oil price is currently above $50 a barrel and its production is around 2.6 million bpd.
The latest budget draft foresees revenues at KD4.606 billion and expenditures at KD7.231 billion, resulting in a KD2.62 billion deficit.
This rises to 3.08 billion when accounting for a mandatory government deposit of KD460.6 million -- or 10 per cent of revenues in this case -- into the Future Generations Fund. Exp-enditures will cover public sector salaries and wages of KD1.943 billion and good and services spending of KD1.077 billion.
Construction projects and maintenance spending was put at KD1.03 billion, up from 745 million last year.
The budget draft uses Kuwait's Opec output quota -- hiked to 2.247 million barrels per day as of early July from 2.207 currently.
A total of KD3.18 billion was earmarked for various other expenses.
According to a breakdown given by official reports, it appears that nothing was earmarked for defence spending this fiscal year.
Kuwait sits on 10 per cent of the world’s proven oil reserves.