ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government has decided to keep the price of state-supplied oil and gasoline stable despite warnings of a financial crisis, Baghdad's oil minister has said. Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Iraq minster of oil, announced in a statement Tuesday that “although the International Monetary Fund [IMF] persists in seeking a removal of government subsidies of energy, we decided to adhere to the policy and keep the prices the way they are now.” In January, Iraq's parliament approved a budget worth $105 billion, revised to lower the expected price for oil to $56 a barrel from $70 as was originally estimated. International oil prices have fallen by nearly 60 percent in recent months, a drop reflected in Iraq’s annual budget which is expected to show a deficit of $22 billion dollars. The IMF had warned Iraq earlier this week of a larger budget deficit than anticipated, and suggested the Iraqi government intervene to soften the damage. Iraqi officials have admitted the onset of an economic crisis, citing the decline of oil prices, high security costs and the fact that several key oilfields had fallen into the hands of the extremists.
