Saudi 2015 Budget Deficit Is $98 Billion as Revenue Drops

Saudi Arabia expects to post a budget deficit of 367 billion riyals ($98 billion) as spending came higher than targeted and revenue dropped amid the plunge in oil prices, an official said on Monday.

Spending will reach 975 billion riyals by the end of this year, overshooting the government’s target by 13 percent, Saudi official Hindi Al-Suhaimi told reporters in Riyadh. Actual revenue was 608 billion riyals, compared with a forecast of 715 billion at the beginning of the year.