Minister of Finance of Kazakhstan convinced of budget-2001 fulfillment

/IRBIS, Jan 23, 01/ - The Great Silk Road World News Agency informs, with the reference to the minister of finance of Kazakhstan, Mazhit Yesenbayev, that no serious problems with the fulfillment of the budget 2001 are expected. Meanwhile, the Minister has admitted that pricing conditions, which are a decisive factor, are difficult to forecast. This explains why the Finance Ministry kept to initial figures of the national budget last year until it became clear that the revenue plan was surpassed. Only then was the budget adjusted by increasing expenditures. This year, however, any possible falls in oil prices "should not be a concern for the Ministry of Finance, since the forecasts were made based on a price of $21 per barrel". This means that the Government believes prices for mineral resources will not drop below this figure. The Government refers to the current price for Brent oil ($26), holding back, however, that Kazakhstani oil is mostly of Urals grade, which is somewhat cheaper on the world market.