Oman's budget deficit inched up to RO4.42bn at the end of September from OMR4.37bn a month earlier. The government's budget gap for the January-September period of 2016 was 51 % higher than the OMR2.93bn deficit recorded in the same period of 2015, mainly due to the big decline in oil revenues, statistics released by National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed. Spending fell nearly 8 % on a year-on-year basis. However, the deficit recorded in September was the lowest monthly addition to the total budget shortfall this year. This was due to an improvement in oil prices and a further reduction in overall public spending. Government's total revenues decreased 25.8 % to OMR4.98bn in the first nine months of 2016. Net oil revenue fell 42.4 % to OMR2.45bn from OMR4.25bn, while gas revenue decreased by 6.2 % to OMR1bn. The sultanate's 2016 budget had estimated a deficit of OMR3.3bn for the full year with an average oil price assumption of US$45 per barrel. Total public expenditure declined 7.9 % to OMR8.1bn in the January-September period of 2016 compared with OMR8.8bn in the corresponding period a year ago. Current expenditure fell 1.3 % to OMR5.75bn, while investment expenditure slipped 14.5 % to OMR1.89bn from RO2.21bn. Expenditure in the participation and support category, which includes government subsidies, dropped 39 % to OMR461.2mn. (Muscat Daily)