Algeria’s energy earnings are forecast to fall to $26.4b next year while foreign exchange reserves will dip to $121b after low oil prices cut into the Opec nation’s economy, Finance Minister Abderrahmane Benkhalfa said yesterday, Gulf Times reported.
The North African state, a major gas supplier to Europe, has already said energy earnings will fall by 50% this year to about $34b. Oil and gas sales make up 95% of its exports and account for 60% of the country’s budget.
In this scenerio, Algeria is considering higher taxes, import duties and a hike in subsidised diesel and electricity prices to help cover its deficit after the slump in crude oil prices eroded its revenues, according to a draft of its 2016 budget, according to Citizen.
“We have to be vigilant in the management of our money. We have to control public spending,” the minister told the parliament where the draft budget law was presented.
