The favourable opinion of the Finance Minister of Russian Federation Alexey Kudrin regarding the economic perspectives of Russia has differed from the negative forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, according to which the turns for the better in Russian Federation would start not earlier than in the year 2014, and the rouble would depreciate.
Alexey Kudrin has made a forecast that Russia would be able to “reduce to nothing” the budget balance already in the financial year 2011 … “We’ll have finished the specification of the forecast by the end of this week, but it seems that we are coming to the balanced zero budget”—the minister says.
Alexey Kudrin links the revision of the expectations with the dynamics of the oil prices. In particular the barrel of the oil Urals in the year 2011, according to his words, will cost not $105 (as the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade had forecasted), but it will be 3 dollars more expensive”. The minister has made his declaration after “Rosneft” had completed an agreement with the American petroleum company ExxonMobil , and the international rating agency “Standard & Poor’s” had confirmed the ratings of Russia in reference to the obligations in international and national currency and had given a stable forecast about them.
Source: www.dp.ru