Announced budget projections do not differ significantly from Russian Central Bank's July forecast - CBR deputy governor

MOSCOW. Sept 21 (Interfax) - The recently announced budget projections do not differ significantly from those that the Central Bank of Russia used to formulate its medium-term forecast in July, Central Bank Deputy Governor Alexei Zabotkin said.

"Let's say that this does not differ much from the structural primary deficit trajectory we presented as assumptions for the July meeting," Zabotkin told reporters on the sidelines of the Moscow Financial Forum, commenting on the new figures regarding the budget deficit for 2026 and 2027.

Zabotkin noted that lowering the baseline oil price under the fiscal rule to $50 [per barrel] for the upcoming three-year period acts as a disinflationary factor.

"Reducing the baseline price is a disinflationary factor in principle," Zabotkin said.

"The structural deficit figures incorporated as assumptions in the July forecast were calculated based on the previous fiscal rule trajectory," Zabotkin explained.

Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina in July said that the Central Bank projects a primary structural federal budget deficit of 2% of GDP for 2026, 1% for 2027, and 0.5% for 2028.