Contents tagged with Oil Prices

  • Russia began to prepare for a collapse of oil prices

    According to the report of the Bank of Russia on the potential risks for Russia’s economy, by mid-2018, oil prices could gradually decline to about 25 USD per barrel, while the growth rate of Russia's GDP will be significantly lower than in other scenarios.

    In March the Central Bank developed a high-risk scenario which provided for the possibility of reducing oil prices to 25 USD per barrel as early as at the end of 2017 and the slowdown of Russia's GDP this year due to this factor to zero.

    " …

  • Media: Hedge funds continue to dump Russian rubles

    American hedge funds are continuing to get rid of investments in rubles, while, at the same time, the price of the Russian currency stays in one place, ignoring the drop in oil prices.

    One week before May 30, major traders at the Chicago exchange reduced bets on the ruble’s growth by 3% on the futures market, Finanz.ru web site reports.

    The number of open contracts on the ruble has been decreasing for five consecutive weeks. Such a prolonged sell-off was last observed on the market in …

  • Russian budget estimated to sink to 20-year low by 2019

    The revenues of the Federal Budget of the Russian Federation will drop to a 20-year low in 2019. On Monday, September 5, 2016 the Russian daily Vedomosti made the announcement, quoting the forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, which projected that revenues will be reduced to 13.3% of the Gross Domestic Product for three years. The last time the actual figure was below forecast was in 1999.

    The Ministry predicted these results on the basis of oil priced at 4 …

  • Russia and Saudi Arabia to work together to counter low oil prices

    The Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia intend to work together to counter a prolonged fall in oil prices. A joint working group will deal with the development of and agreement on a plan in that area, DPA (Germany Press Agency) reports.

    Its establishment is envisaged in the bilateral agreement signed on September 5 at the G20 summit.

    Relevant statements were made by the Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Alexander Novak, and the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of …

  • Condoleezza Rice tells Ukraine to wait until the sanctions affect the Russian economy

    The former United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, believes that the US has to help Ukraine and strengthen its security. At the same time, it is necessary to adhere to the Minsk Agreements and wait until sanctions and low oil prices impact the Russian economy.

    “I believe that we should help Ukraine to protect itself. I believe that people should have the ability to protect themselves with the help of small arms. However, the American Government didn’t choose this path and I …

  • No end in sight for Russia’s economic woes

    With the Russian economy continuing to plummet as a result of western sanctions and low oil prices, the Kremlin seems to be sticking to its reliance on hydrocarbon exports, as oil revenues still account for 44% of the federal budget. For the 25 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian government has done little to relieve the economy from its dependence on oil and gas, and with the value of the ruble at a record low, many experts worry that it may be too late to diversify …

  • Kudrin: Russia has not reached peak of economic crisis

    Former Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, Alexei Kudrin, was engaged in talks last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top officials about returning to a senior post to help deal with the worsening economic situation.

    According to Kudrin, if oil prices continue to fall, there will be a further decline in the Russian economy.

    Kudrin holds that the Russian economic crisis has not yet reached its pinnacle, and argues that “today we see a further deterioration of the …

  • Putin blames profiteers for Russia’s economic woes

    At a meeting with cabinet members, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for increasing the amount of high-quality but inexpensive Russian products on the market. Putin said that profiteering has led to a decline in living standards in the country, and has produced an unjustified increase in the cost of products, goods, and services.

    “Today, unreasonable, frankly profiteering price hikes on goods and services are leading to lower living standards. We need to use all market instruments …