Oil price drop to save Egypt LE30bn in energy subsidies, minister says

The global drop in oil prices will save Egypt a third of its fuel subsidy bill in the current fiscal year, the Minister of Petroleum said.

Fuel subsidies will drop to about LE70 billion ($9.7 bn) in the fiscal year ending 30 June 2015, down from LE100 billion originally planned if Brent crude remains at the current level, Sherif Ismail said in an emailed statement today.

The Egyptian government used $105 per barrel to forecast its expenses in 2014/15 fiscal year, the state budget showed. Oil fell to a five-year low of $54 a barrel before rebounding to about $60 by the end of last week.

The fall in oil is good news for the Egyptian government which in July slashed fuel subsidies, raising pump prices by up to 78 percent. It hopes to reduce the budget deficit to 11 percent of GDP this year, down from 12.8 percent last year.

Source : Ahram Online