Azeri budget based on oil at $70

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The government of Azerbaijan Thursday corrected its draft 2009 state budget that had been based on an oil export price well below current levels.

Azeri Finance Minister Samir Sharifov said Baku corrected its 2009 forecasts based on conservative estimates of the world energy market, the Azerbaijan Business Center reported.

Sharifov said the previous budget was based on oil at $70 per barrel.

"I think the government should keep the forecasts at the same level while calculating the oil export forecast 2009. That will make possible to fulfill budget expenditures," he said.

The 2008 budget was based on an oil export price of $50 to $70. Three versions of the 2009 budget were submitted with estimates from $80 to $125.

Oil was down slightly in morning trading to around $108 as the market waits for U.S. data on gasoline reserves.