Medvedev to Hold Meeting on 2016 Federal Budget Amid Spiralling Oil Price

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday will hold a meeting on issues of balancing the federal budget for the year 2016, the Cabinet's press service said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier this month, Medvedev signed a government resolution on re-addressing the 2016 federal budget, which should be implemented in the near future.

"The meeting will be attended by First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Igor Shuvalov, Deputy Prime Ministers Olga Golodets, Arkady Dvorkovich, Dmitry Kozak, Dmitry Rogozin, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev and Central Bank Chairman Elvira Nabiullina," the Prime Minister's press service stated.

Global oil prices have rapidly declined recently, with both the WTI and Brent benchmark dropping below $30 a barrel. Russia's federal government derives a significant portion of its income from the sale of oil, and when the original 2016 budget was drafted, it was assumed that oil prices would average $50 per barrel.

Russia’s federal 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) which is 3 percent of GDP.

The Russian ruble hit its lowest level since December 2014, trading at 80.16 rubles to the US dollar late last week in the wake of falling oil prices. Currently, the dollar amounts to 78.14 rubles.

Last week, Russian Finance Minister Siluanov said that the budget should be balanced in accordance with the current oil prices, and the budget had not yet adapted itself to the slump.