An economist says the 2027 budget may become just ink on paper.
An economist says the 2027 budget may become just ink on paper.
9-2-2026
The economic expert Abdul Rahman al-Mashhadani asserted on Wednesday that the government will be unable to finalize and implement the 2027 budget given the ongoing regional tensions, the US aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the resulting maritime tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. He explained that the plans and programs developed by the Ministry of Finance will become mere “ink on paper” without sufficient financial resources.
Al-Mashhadani told the Information Agency that “the government has set an estimated price of $60 to $70 per barrel for next year, a figure that is difficult to rely on given the war and low export rates, in addition to the fact that oil is being sold at the port.”
He added that “the initial estimates for the total budget amount to 150 trillion dinars, of which 135 trillion will go to the operational budget (salaries and daily expenses), and a meager 15 trillion dinars to the investment budget, thus deepening the financial deficit to dangerous levels.”
Al-Mashhadani explained that “these challenges and others will be the primary obstacle to finalizing the 2027 budget.” He also pointed out that “the crisis coincides with a frightening decline in the reserves of the Central Bank of Iraq as a result of its continued sale of foreign currency to the private sector to finance imports, without any corresponding compensatory dollar inflows.” He revealed that “what has recently reached the Central Bank has not exceeded one billion dollars.”
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