Oman's budget deficit more than tripled in the first three months of 2016 from a year earlier as the oil-price slump sapped government revenue. Total expenditure, meanwhile, declined by less than 2%. The deficit sharply widened to OMR1.64bn from OMR544.6mn, data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed. While government revenues fell by nearly OMR1bn, or 40.6%, to OMR1.45bn in the first quarter, total expenses decreased by just 1.9% to OMR2.39bn. The sultanate's budget expects the deficit to balloon to OMR3.3bn this year, compared with actual arrears of OMR4.5bn in 2015. (Muscat Daily)