The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is expected to record the largest external fiscal surplus in 2006 as oil prices are heading for their highest average in current prices this year.
Figures by the World Bank showed the GCC's current account, which covers the balance between incoming and outgoing goods, services and funds, hit a record USD105.7 billion in 2004 and swelled to USD152 billion in 2005. In 2006, the balance is slated to gain another record of USD172.7 billion before easing to around USD164.9 billion in 2007, the World Bank said in a report.
