The price of Russian oil hit a record high in April, the highest since 2014: details
5 May 13:16
The average price of Russian oil used for tax calculations jumped in April to $94.87 per barrel, the highest level since September 2014, according to data published by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" citing Russian propaganda media.
Compared to March, when Urals crude cost $77 per barrel, the price increased by $17.87, or 23%, and compared to levels at the start of the year ($40.95 in January) – by 2.3 times. As a result, the actual price in April exceeded the budgeted level by nearly $36.
At the current price of Russian oil and a dollar exchange rate of about 78-80 rubles, the budget will collect about 1 trillion rubles in oil and gas taxes per month, estimates Alexei Tretyakov, CEO of AriCapital. This is twice the level seen in January–March, when the treasury received an average of about 477 billion rubles per month.
According to Reuters calculations, the budget may have collected about 850 billion rubles from oil and gas in April—22% less than a year earlier. However, this figure is based on the March oil price of $77 per barrel.
However, preliminary data from the Treasury indicate that the budget posted a significant surplus in April, notes economist Yegor Susin. This is evidenced by the fact that the Russian Ministry of Finance sharply increased the placement of funds in banks, where free, unallocated balances are deposited. The volume of such transactions in April increased by 4.3 trillion rubles, Susin notes, and exceeded last year’s level by 1 trillion rubles.
According to the Russian Ministry of Finance, the budget recorded a deficit of 4.576 trillion rubles in January–March—1.2 times more than was planned for the entire year.
