Russia’s budget deficit widened to 5.23 trillion rubles in January-October, the Ministry of Finance said in preliminary data, up from 3.94 trillion rubles a year earlier. The deficit equalled 2.3 percent of GDP in the current period, against 1.8 percent a year earlier.
Revenues and spending diverge
Budget revenues reached 33.18 trillion rubles, up 11 percent year on year. Expenditures rose faster, to 38.41 trillion rubles, an increase of 13.4 percent.
Oil and gas revenues fell 14.1 percent to 6.44 trillion rubles. Non-oil and gas revenues rose 19.1 percent to 26.73 trillion rubles, cushioning part of the drop from energy.
Ministry points to priority spending
The ministry attributed the deviation from structural budget balance targets to higher spending on priority areas and lower oil and gas revenues. Russian budget spending has risen significantly in recent years, particularly on defence industry spending.
Source: Ministry of Finance
