Cbank: Russian wealth, reserve funds may become empty by early ‘19

MOSCOW, Dec 23 (PRIME) -- Russia may spend money of the National Wealth Fund and the Reserve Fund almost entirely by the start of 2019, the central bank said in a report Wednesday.

In 2016, Russia plans to spend 2.137 trillion rubles from the Reserve Fund to cover a budget deficit.

“By the end of 2016,…the total amount of the Reserve Fund and the National Wealth Fund may stand at 5.717 trillion rubles. If we assume that in 2017–2018 the volume of money allocated from the funds to balance the federal budget remain the same as in 2016, then the combined amount of the Reserve Fund and the National Wealth Fund will be almost depleted by the start of 2019,” the central bank said.

In November, the Reserve Fund, which protects the budget against falls in oil prices, decreased 7% to 3.93 trillion rubles. The National Wealth Fund, designed to secure the country’s pension system, increased 1% to 4.78 trillion rubles in the period.

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