2025 Budget: Government Advisor Outlines Spending Priorities And Plans To Address Trillion-Dollar Deficit

Time: 2025/05/21 Read: 2,430 times  {Economic: Al Furat News} The Prime Minister's financial and economic advisor, Mazhar Mohammed Salih, revealed important details related to the budget for the remainder of 2025 and the impact of global economic variables on the oil market.

In a press statement, Salih confirmed that "Iraq was able to sell its oil until the end of the first quarter of 2025 at an average price of $75 per barrel, which exceeds the price specified in the general budget law of $70."

He pointed to the paradox witnessed by the global oil market, as the OPEC+ group recently lifted its restrictions on member states' production, driven by a decline in global oil inventories. However, this increase coincided with the escalation of the trade war between the United States and China, and the subsequent imposition of customs tariffs, which produced signs of a recession in the global economy.

Salih explained that a 1% decline in economic growth leads to a half-percent decline in demand for crude oil and vice versa, noting that this has created a "downward oil asset cycle."

Regarding the Iraqi general budget for the rest of 2025, Salih indicated that it will operate according to the principle of "fiscal space," which is based on flexibility in controlling public expenditures. 

He emphasized that priority in spending will be given to government salaries and wages, pensions, and social welfare, which affect the lives of eight million Iraqis. He also stressed the need to continue Spending on infrastructure projects remains uninterrupted, as they are linked to the government's development and reform agenda.

Saleh noted that the budget includes a hypothetical maximum borrowing limit of 64 trillion Iraqi dinars (about $1.5 trillion) to cover the deficit gap, out of an upper ceiling of 200 trillion dinars. He emphasized that the Ministry of Finance will borrow to finance the project when needed.  LINK