Economic experts are predicting a huge budget surplus of SR100 billion for the upcoming year. The estimate is based on a rise in oil production and prices which will lead to SR1.1 trillion in revenue – the highest since 2008. However, economists have also warned that global political and economic conditions mean that oil prices will not rise next year. Economist Fadhl Al-Boanain said: “Budget officials are reserved with regards to estimates for fear of any changes in international markets.” He attributed the surplus to the fact that authorities modified their spending and increased financial credits in line with revenues. “This is a good thing. But this should be resorted to in emergency projects or projects that have been delayed due to preliminary predictions of the budget,” Al-Boanain said. He insisted that all predictions indicate that the budget revenues and expenditures will be larger than expected. “The Minister of Finance confirmed this when he said oil and non-oil revenues will be close to SR1.1 trillion. This means this year's actual government spending will be higher than what was announced at the beginning of the year,” he added. The enormous surplus is expected to fund massive infrastructural projects that will benefit the Saudi people and the domestic economy. Intisar Al-Qahtani, an economic expert, said: “The government spending is expected to reach SR850 billion.” __
