Russia plans to divert more oil revenues into the budget reserve fund to preserve it from depletion and to take pressure off the currency market, where the rouble is strengthening, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday.
Russia is faced with falling revenues from sales of oil, its main export commodity, due to a growing discount on global markets because of US pressure on key buyers of Russian oil.
“Possibly, considering the external conditions, the (budget) indicators might be slightly adjusted, slightly changed,” Siluanov told reporters after the government’s annual report to parliament.
Siluanov said the government plans to make a decision within the next two weeks to lower the so-called cut-off price above which fiscal revenues from oil sales are diverted into the National Wealth Fund.
Russian oil has consistently traded below that price, currently set at $59 per barrel and set to fall by $1 each year under previously announced plans.
Russia has $56 billion in fiscal reserves that the government can draw on to cover the deficit, but analysts estimate that at the current pace of revenue decline those reserves would be largely depleted within a year.
Siluanov did not disclose by how much the government plans to lower the cut-off price, but such a change would automatically imply a cut in spending since more money would flow into the fund.
The sales of foreign currency from the reserve fund on the market have pushed the rouble higher, with the strong exchange rate further denting revenues of the state and exporting companies.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin told parliament during the presentation of his annual report that there had been a late-night meeting on Tuesday of top government and central bank officials on how to finance the rising budget deficit.
