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RUSSIA'S ECONOMY

Russian Finance Ministry admits Reserve Fund may be depleted in 2017

As of July 1, the Russian Reserve Fund amounted to $17.42 bln, €15.61 bln and ‎£2.62 bln

© Vladimir Smirnov/TASS

MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. Russia’s Reserve Fund may be depleted in 2017, Deputy Finance Minister Sergey Storchak said Wednesday.

"Yes, it is possible," he said when asked whether the Reserve Fund may be depleted next year, adding that "political decisions are made at various levels" and "at the moment this level is higher than mine."

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As was reported earlier Russia’s Reserve Fund declined by 3.7% in June to 2.5 trillion rubles ($39 bln) while the National Wealth Fund (NWF) dropped by 3% to 4.7 trillion rubles ($73.4 bln). In dollar terms the funds amounted to $38.22 and $72.76 bln, respectively, as of July 1.

In May, the Finance Ministry spent $2.67 bln, €2.34 bln and ‎£0.41 bln worth of funds from the Reserve Fund for financing budget deficit. No disbursements were reported for June. On the whole the Finance Ministry may spend a total of 2.2 trillion rubles ($34 bln) to finance budget deficit, which the Central Bank says may cause a structural liquidity surplus of the banking sector.

According to the data provided by the Finance Ministry, as of July 1 the Reserve Fund amounted to $17.42 bln, €15.61 bln and ‎£2.62 bln.

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