Africa Oil & Gas: Angola needs price of oil to rise US$82 per barrel to balance the state budget

Angola needs the price of oil to rise to US$82 per barrel to balance its State Budget, Fitch Ratings said recently. Fitch added that the price needed to balance the budget had fallen for most countries whose sovereign risk it analysed, due to measures taken by the governments of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with exactly the opposite occurring in Angola, Nigeria and Gabon.

In a report on the impact of falling oil prices on countries in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Fitch noted that adjustment measures allowed its balanced budget forecast to cover more countries than in 2015.

“Most oil exporting countries are still under pressure because of low prices, almost three years after the oil shock,” said the research note adding that “oil prices have begun to recover, but remain below levels that would balance the budgets of most major oil exporters,” in the EMEA region.

According to Fitch’s forecast oil prices are expected to average US$52.5 per barrel this year, an increase compared to US$45.1 last year, “but still below the minimum value to balance the budget for 11 of the 14 countries to which Fitch assigns sovereign debt ratings. (source: Macauhub)