Business ombudsman warns budget deficit can exceed 10% in 2020

MOSCOW, Apr 8 (PRIME) – Russia’s budget deficit can exceed 10% in 2020 if the oil prices remain at the current level, business ombudsman Boris Titov said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"The government understands, while assessing the budget, that even if it gives no aid to the companies, which are asking for it, it has a very serious negative gap in the budget. If the oil prices do not rise in a few days, we can already say that we will have a double-digit deficit in the budget by the end of the year, it will be above 10%," Titov said.

Titov also estimated a more than 10% reduction of the gross domestic product in March and probably, in 2020 at large.

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