Economist outlines financial options as oil declines...and warns, 3 OCT

 An economic expert revealed the options available to the Ministry of Finance if oil prices continue to decline.

Salah Nouri told Al Furat News Agency: "The decrease in the selling price of exported oil affects the Ministry of Finance's commitment to financing the (current and investment) budget."

He explained that "the options before the Ministry of Finance are either to proceed with implementing the budget paragraphs, which means increasing domestic borrowing, which in turn affects the liquidity of government banks and the employees' pension fund, which are the lending entities, or to reduce funding for investment projects and some paragraphs of the current budget."

He warned that "reducing funding and spending leads to economic recession."

Nouri continued, "From a psychological and behavioral perspective, citizens with limited incomes fear the further decline in prices, which leads to a reduction in their monthly spending."  link