MOSCOW: Russian dupty finanace minister said that the crude oil prices raised $50 per barrel and no reason yet to raise its forecast for the average oil price for this year.
“For now, I don’t see reasons for a revision of oil price forecasts,” Maxim Oreshkin told to the media.
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Mr. Oreshkin’s view contrasts with the economy ministry’s outlook, which, according to Vedomosti daily, sees the average oil price recovering to $60 per barrel this year and then further to $80 in 2018. The government is set to publish a new economic forecast for the next few years in the near future.
Russia’s budget and broader economy are heavily dependent on commodity exports. According to the customs service data, energy and fuel-related goods accounted for 73.3% of exports in 2014. As oil prices fall Russia’s economy is sliding into contraction, while the finance ministry is tapping its reserve fund to plug holes in the budget for the first time since 2009.
