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Russia’s Reserve Fund may be depleted in 2016 if oil prices fall

MOSCOW, December 06. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s Reserve Fund may be depleted in 2016 if oil prices fall, according to the Budget Strategy up to 2030 prepared by the Ministry of Finance.

The Reserve Fund is currently estimated at 2.885 trillion rubles, which makes up 4.3% of GDP.

The Finance Ministry has presented three scenarios for oil prices from 2016: a short-term decrease to $60 per barrel; a drop to $80 per barrel with a gradual recovery within two to three years; and a long-term decline to $80 per barrel.

“If oil prices fall, the obligations set forth in the strategy will be financed out of the Reserve Fund,” the document says, adding that in this case budget expenditures will have to be cut in 2017.