Iran says the trend of decline in oil prices will continue
Iran Parliament suggests $75-80 barrel oil price for budget
DUBAI, November 24, 2014
Iran's parliament recommends basing next year's budget on an oil price of $75-80 a barrel, a senior lawmaker was reported as saying, down from $100 in the 2014 budget plan.
"It seems the trend of decline in oil prices will continue and a return to previous oil prices is not expected," the official Irna news agency reported Gholamreza Tajgardoon, head of parliament's planning and budget commission, as saying.
"Parliament and the planning commission recommend an oil price of about $80 a barrel to the government," he said when asked about how the fall of oil prices would affect the budget.
"The price of oil for the budget still can't be announced, but it seems with caution and foresight, it will be based on a barrel of oil between $75 and $80," he said.
He added that if the budget was based on a higher price, it would increase the chances of a budget deficit.
Iran's budget for the year ending in March 2015 has been based on oil at $100 per barrel, and exports of about one million barrels a day (mbpd).
Irna did not indicate when next year's budget would be voted on, but the 2014 budget vote took place in February 2014.
Tajgardoon's comments echo those of government spokesperson Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, who said the government had forecast the price of a barrel of oil at between $70 and $80 a barrel, according to oil ministry news agency Shana.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will meet in Vienna on November 27 to decide whether to cut output to trim global supply and boost oil prices, which have fallen by 30 per cent since June.
Opec members Iran, Libya and Venezuela have urged fellow crude producers to support oil prices through production cuts, while Kuwait has said an output reduction is unlikely.--Reuters
