Ministry: Russia’s budget deficit at 2.581 tln rbl in Jan–Feb

MOSCOW, Mar 6 (PRIME) -- Russia’s federal budget deficit amounted to 2.581 trillion rubles in January–February, the Finance Ministry said in a report on Monday.

Revenue shrank by 25% on the year to 3.163 trillion rubles with the energy revenue plummeting by 46% to 947 billion rubles as a result of lower prices for the Urals oil blend and lower exports of natural gas. The non-energy revenue decreased only by 9% to 2.217 trillion rubles.

The ministry also said that the government adjusted the taxation mechanism for the oil companies to ensure a gradual recovery of tax collection in July–December. Also, the government could use the National Wealth Fund to cover energy revenue shortfalls, ensuring budget stability.

Budget spending soared by 52% to 5.744 trillion rubles because of swift signing of contracts at the beginning of the year and prepayments on some contracted spending to ensure smoother administration of spending later in the year, the ministry said.

The budget plan for 2023 remains intact, the ministry added.

(75.4592 rubles – U.S. $1)

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