Russian Finance Ministry predicts increase in capital outflow from the country
The volume of Russia’s net capital outflow in the second half of 2016 will be slightly higher than in the first half. This forecast was made on the 25th of July by the country’s Deputy Finance Minister, Maxim Oreshkin.
According to him, “this is due to the heavier schedule of the external debt compared to the first half of the year”. At the same time, the Bank of Russia has reported that the net outflow of the capital in the first six months of 2016 is almost five times lower in comparison to the same period of 2015, and amounted to $10.5 billion.
Oreshkin also said that in August, the Ministry of Finance may resume the sale of foreign currency from the Reserve Fund to eliminate the federal budget deficit. The Reserve Fund was used to finance the budget for the first time this year. The Ministry of Finance sold the currency for a total of 780 billion rubles in April and May. As of the 1st of July, the Reserve Fund amounts to two trillion, 456.1 billion rubles.
According to Oreshkin, the forecast for the budget deficit for 2016 is expected to reach 3.2% of the GDP. It amounted to 4% of the GDP in the first half of the year. He also said that low oil prices had resulted in “a low revenue generation at the beginning of the year”, but now “the situation is normalizing”. Interfax reported him as saying that the exchange rate of the ruble is currently “fully consistent with the balance of payments and the current oil prices”.