Russia's budget deficit this year is
expected to be below 0.5% of gross domestic product if crude oil prices average
$115 a barrel, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Tuesday.
The forecast is slightly higher than one given by Kudrin earlier this year,
when he said an average oil price of $115 a barrel was enough to completely
balance the country's 2011 budget.
An average oil price of $105 a barrel this year would result in a budget
deficit of 1% to 1.5% of GDP, Kudrin said.
Kudrin, known as a fiscal hawk, also said that budget spending should not grow
by more than 4% a year.
"Budget spending growth should be limited by the growth of the economy, to
no more than 4%," said Kudrin, adding that current proposals to increase
spending amount to much more than that.