Budget hopeful on oil rise

If oil prices continue to rise and Iraq's oil output and exports improve, the government may be able to pass a more generous supplementary budget later this year, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Monday, Aseel Kami reports for Reuters.

Iraq, just emerging from years of sectarian war, had to chop its 2009 spending plans three times after global oil prices plunged from a peak last summer of more than $147 per barrel.