Russia’s sovereign wealth fund has enough reserves to cover budget deficit for years, even if oil prices stay between $25 and $30 per barrel, the Finance Ministry announced amid a dramatic oil market crash.
Despite Monday being a public holiday in Russia, both the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank were quick to react to the overnight drop in oil prices of nearly 30 percent. The former said that the Russian National Wealth Fund has $150 billion (more than 10 trillion rubles) worth of liquid assets from additional oil and gas revenues, which is enough to offset a possible shortfall from falling crude prices for 6-10 years.
The oil market turmoil dragged down Russia’s national currency, which fell sharply against the US dollar and the euro. The ruble slid about eight percent, trading at 74.1 to the dollar on Monday morning. Against the euro, the ruble was at 84.4, its weakest since late February 2016
