UPDATE: Min: Russia can keep Reserve Fund money ’17 at oil price of $50

(Adds details in paragraph 5)

MOSCOW, Jan 13 (PRIME) -- Russia can finish 2017 with some money in the Reserve Fund if the oil price remains at U.S. $50 per barrel, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on the sidelines of the Gaidar forum on Friday.

“The budget for this year envisages using up to 1.8 trillion rubles from the funds: the Reserve Fund and the National Wealth Fund. The amount of the Reserve Fund is about 970 billion rubles as of January 1. Herein a question: Can we keep the Reserve Fund if oil remains at $50 per barrel? We can because the amount of additional income can be about 1 trillion rubles,” Siluanov said.

The budget for 2017 envisages spending the entire Reserve Fund remainder but it is based on a $40 per barrel oil price.

The ministry will start spending money from the Reserve Fund in March–April, depending on the current revenue and financing of liabilities, Siluanov said.

The 2017 budget will be amended in May, Siluanov said.

He said that the Finance Ministry will not take loans to cover budgetary gaps in 2017. “We have enough money so far in order to not attract resources of commercial banks. We are using even this money as the money to be given on deposits with commercial banks.”

The latest Finance Ministry’s policies will consist of reducing the balance of the Federal Treasury and taking short-term banking loans in case of budget gaps.

(59.4978 rubles – U.S. $1)

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