MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The law stipulates a gradual budget deficit reduction from 3.2 percent of GDP in 2017 to 2.2 percent the following year, and 1.2 percent in 2019, according to the presidential website.
The budget is drafted on the expectation of oil prices to average $40 per barrel, inflation at no higher than 4 percent, and the exchange rate to total 67.5 rubles in 2017, 68.7 rubles in 2018, then 71.1 rubles in 2019.
