The Russian federal budget faced a decline in commodity revenues and an increase in the deficit for the third consecutive month, as noted by the publication The Moscow Times* in the Ministry of Finance report.
By the end of April, the budget had a deficit of 3.23 trillion rubles, which exceeded the figure for the first four months of last year (1.14 trillion) by 183%. Every fifth ruble spent by the government (20.8% of the budget) was not backed by actual tax revenue.
By the end of April, 1.08 trillion rubles in taxes from oil and gas were received in the treasury—12% less than in the same month last year. Cumulatively, over 4 months, collections from oil and gas companies fell by 10%, or 430 billion rubles, to 3.76 trillion.
Meanwhile, expenditures, a third of which this year are allocated for the army and war, soared by 20%, to 15.5 trillion rubles.
The Ministry of Finance indicated that commodity revenues fell due to a drop in oil prices: the average cost of a barrel of Urals in April fell to $54, although it was still at $70 and above in January.
At the same time, there are "risks" of further declines in oil and gas revenues "due to a weakening price environment," the agency warns.
The price of Russian oil Urals at the end of April fell below $50 per barrel again, according to data from the international pricing agency Argus. The brand had already dropped to such values at the beginning of the previous month, but only for one day. Negative impacts include trade wars and the OPEC+ decision to increase production. As of April 30, the price of Urals in Primorsk decreased to $48.87 per barrel, and with shipment in Novorossiysk—to $49.82. On Tuesday, May 6, the price of Urals in Primorsk was at $48.6 per barrel, and in Novorossiysk—$49.55 per barrel.
As reported by RBC, the price of Russian oil ESPO, which belongs to the premium category, had already dropped below the G7 price cap ($60) at the beginning of April, but on April 23, it rose above this mark again. However, since the end of April, the cost of the ESPO grade with shipment in Kozmino has again been below $60 per barrel, and in May it approached the $50 level.
* Recognized in Russia as a "foreign agent" and "undesirable" organization.