UPDATE: Fin min: Putin approves reserving extra oil, gas income in 2017

(Adds details in last paragraph)

MOSCOW, Jan 18 (PRIME) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has supported a government’s idea to spend any additional oil and gas revenue of the state budget on reimbursement of the Reserve Fund and the National Wealth Fund in 2017, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters after a meeting with Putin on Wednesday.

“A non-spending of oil and gas income will make the monetary policy more predictable, will allow the central bank to have more room in the monetary policy from the point of view of reducing rates and ensuring stability of the ruble rate,” Siluanov said.

The additional oil and gas income of the budget will amount to 1 trillion rubles if the average oil price is U.S. $50 per barrel and to 1.4 trillion rubles if the oil price amounts to $55, he said.

The income will be considered additional once the oil price exceeds the forecasted level of $40, he said.

Spending from the Reserve and the National Wealth funds can become unnecessary in 2017 if the oil market situation is favorable, he said, adding that the spending from sovereign funds is planned to amount to 1.8 trillion rubles.

Siluanov separately said that the Finance Ministry plans to develop and present a new budget rule to the State Duma, the parliament’s lower house, during the spring session of 2017. He said that the rule must start to be implemented in a final version from 2020.

(59.4015 rubles – U.S. $1)

End