Russia’s federal budget deficit narrowed in June, allowing the country to post a monthly budget surplus, according to the Russian Finance Ministry.
During the first six months of the year, the federal budget deficit totaled 5.731 trillion rubles, down from 6.01 trillion rubles recorded at the end of May. As a result, Russia posted a budget surplus of approximately 279 billion rubles in June, the first monthly surplus since October last year.
Oil and gas revenues declined by 23% year-on-year during January–June, falling to 3.661 trillion rubles. At the same time, non-oil-and-gas revenues increased by 16%, reaching 14.961 trillion rubles.
Overall federal budget revenues rose by just 6% over the first half of the year to 18.622 trillion rubles, while government spending grew much faster, increasing 16% to 24.353 trillion rubles.
State procurement expenditures surged by 47% to 7.553 trillion rubles. By the end of June, the Finance Ministry had already used roughly three-quarters of its annual procurement budget.
Despite the June surplus, Russia’s cumulative budget deficit remains above the government’s target for the full year, standing at 2.5% of GDP compared with the planned 1.6% of GDP.
Economists estimate that Russia’s accumulated budget deficit over the past 12 months has reached 8 trillion rubles.
Earlier reports indicated that Russia’s industrial sector continues to weaken, with most industries posting negative growth. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also acknowledged the economic slowdown, stating that the country’s GDP in January was 2.1% lower than a year earlier.
Leave a comment