The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) said a 42 percent rise in crude prices in 1999 rocketed the oil income of its member states to 104.1 billion dollars, the highest level since one of 145 billion dollars in 1982.
Oil revenues increased by 27.3 billion dollars last year from 76.8 billion in 1998, the 10-nation OAPEC said in an annual report, quoted by Kuwait's official news agency KUNA on Saturday.
Budget deficits in 1999 either disappeared or sharply dropped due to the oil price rise, and countries such as Kuwait and Libya recorded positive growth rates after experiencing negative growth in 1998.
Founded in 1968, the Kuwait-based OAPEC groups Bahrain, Egypt and Syria with seven members of the more influential OPEC: Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - KUWAIT CITY (AFP)
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