Gulf states lose $7 billion in four months

Arab economic sources said that the Gulf states' petroleum incomes have decreased by more than $7 billion in the first four months of the current year.

The sources said that the decrease in petroleum incomes for the Gulf Cooperation Council's member states is due to a nearly $5 decrease in the average price of a barrel of crude oil, as the price of the OAPEC barrel in the first four months of the current year fell to $12.5 dollar from $17.5 during the same period of 1997.

The sources expect increasing losses in the coming period, unless improvements in petroleum prices take place.