(Ecofin Agency) - On Monday, May 4, the Algerian Minister of Communications, Ammar Belhimer, announced that the fall in oil prices is expected to reduce oil and gas export revenues for the year to $20.6 billion, well below the $37.4 billion announced earlier.

The country also expects a drop in foreign exchange reserves to $44.2 billion by the end of 2020, and the level of foreign exchange is expected to drop to $51.6 billion.

As a reminder, Algeria's foreign exchange reserves fell to less than $60 billion at the end of March, compared to about $80 billion at the end of 2018 and more than $97 billion at the end of 2017. A decline due to the high volatility of barrel prices since 2014.

The financial pressures that have increased since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic have forced the government to reduce the expenditures and investments planned for this year in several sectors, including oil and gas.

Olivier de Souza