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Russian Finance Ministry to review 2016 budget in Q1 due to lower oil prices

According to Vedomosti business daily and Reuters news agency, Russian ministries and departments are due to outline expenses to be cut by 10% in 2016 before January 15

MOSCOW, January 12. /TASS/. Russia’s Finance Ministry may review 2016 budget in the first quarter due to lower oil prices after it’s accorded with macroeconomic forecast of the Economic Development Ministry, a federal official familiar with the matter told TASS on Tuesday.

"In the first quarter," he said when answering the question when 2016 budget parameters may be reviewed.

Earlier Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said 2016 budget might be partially reviewed in end-2015 though there were no reports about such revisions. In end-December Siluanov said the government had prepared a list of measures regarding expenditures, including budget revision, and mentioned extension of privatization program, particularly regarding Russia’s biggest oil producer Rosneft, among potential measures to increase budget revenue base.

According to Vedomosti business daily and Reuters news agency, Russian ministries and departments are due to outline expenses to be cut by 10% in 2016 before January 15, and submit the information to the Finance Ministry, otherwise the latter will forcedly reduce budget limits by 10%.

Russia’s 2016 federal budget is based on the Urals crude oil price at $50 per barrel while at the moment the price is below $29 per barrel.

The budget projects revenues of 13.738 trillion rubles (about $196 billion) and expenditures of 16.099 trillion rubles ($229.9 billion) with a budget deficit of 2.36 trillion rubles ($33.9 billion) or 3% of GDP.

The 2016 budget is based on the inflation rate of no more than 6.4% (December 2016 on December 2015). Russia’s GDP is projected at 78.673 trillion rubles ($1.12 trillion) in 2016.