Russian budget deficit at 0.7% of GDP in Jan-July with target of 1.1% for year

MOSCOW. Aug 7 (Interfax) - Russia had a federal budget deficit of 1.362 trillion rubles or 0.7% of GDP in the first seven months of 2024, according to preliminary estimates, the Finance Ministry reported in a press release.

The ministry did not provide figures for last month, only the accumulated figure since the start of the year.

Budget revenues grew by 35.9% year-on-year to 19.747 trillion rubles and spending increased by 23.3% to 21.109 trillion rubles.

Preliminary data for the execution of the budget are subsequently usually updated by the Treasury, but it has not yet published figures for the first half of 2024.

Based on unrevised Finance Ministry data for the first half, according to which revenues totalled 17.093 trillion rubles, spending amounted to 18.022 trillion rubles and the deficit was 929 billion rubles or 0.5% of GDP, there was a federal budget deficit in July, unlike in June, with revenues of 2.654 trillion rubles and spending of 3.087 trillion rubles.

However, preliminary estimates can differ significantly from the revised figures. For example, in the first five months of 2024 the deficit was initially estimated at 983 billion rubles, but the revised Treasury figure was 730.4 billion rubles.

Amendments to the 2024 budget law that were passed in July target a deficit of 2.12 trillion rubles or 1.1% of GDP, with revenues of 35.063 trillion rubles and spending of 37.183 billion rubles.

The federal budget deficit was about 2.6 trillion rubles in the first seven months of last year.

The ministry said the "dynamic of revenue receipts and financing of expenditures in January-July 2024 show the execution of the federal budget in accordance with the targeted parameters of the structure deficit approved in the budget law."

The federal budget's non-oil and gas revenues grew by 25.5% year-on-year to 12.97 trillion rubles in the seven months, with revenue from turnover taxes, including the value-added tax, increasing by 16.4%.

"In general, the amount and trajectory of revenue from the largest non-oil and gas taxes for January-July indicate the dynamic factored into the formulation of the budget law is being exceeded," the Finance Ministry.

Oil and gas revenues surged 61.6% year-on-year to 6.777 trillion rubles, primarily on the back of higher prices for Russian oil. These revenues were higher than the baseline amount and, according to the parameters of the socioeconomic development forecast, oil and gas revenues are expected to continue to exceed the baseline level in subsequent months, the ministry said.