Russia Girds For Deficit, High Inflation

俄罗斯财政部长库德林(Alexei Kudrin)周三说，俄罗斯十年来首次出现的财政赤字规模将占到今年国内生产总值(GDP)的8%，他进一步指出，为了维持开支，以遏制经济危机，俄罗斯需要在预算上作出更多让步。 Bloomberg News俄罗斯财政部长库德林库德林在财政部的年度会议上发言时指出，俄罗斯将迎来非常艰难的一年。他说，占GDP 8%的赤字规模是我们现在所能承受的上限。他说如果出现更大的缺口，则可能推动通货膨胀率突破今年本已高达13%至14%的预期区间。填补赤字所需的大部分资金将来自储备金Reserve Fund，它是由石油暴利税收入所建两只基金中的一只。当油价突破每桶27美元时，俄罗斯石油出口商需上缴暴利税。自1月初以来，俄罗斯政府就一直规划今年的财政预算。库德林说该方案尚在拟定中，应该能在3月8日前出炉，现在必须要把约1万亿卢布（合278.9亿美元）的计划支出资金进行再配置以满足财政赤字目标，并为应对金融危机的努力提供资金。已在俄罗斯财政部任职12年的库德林说这是个艰巨的任务，因为随着油价暴跌，预计俄罗斯2009年的收入将较预期锐减42%。由于俄罗斯正在承受着十年来最严重经济危机的侵袭，俄总理普京(Putin)的支持率已开始下滑。他要求以油价每桶41美元而不是此前估算的95美元为基准制定新的财政预算。库德林说，很少有国家能面临这么大的预算调整。上周，俄罗斯总统德米特里•梅德韦杰夫(Dmitry Medvedev)批评政府在应对危机时行动之缓慢是“不可接受的”。Lidia Kelly相关阅读俄罗斯经济将继续恶化 普京支持率下降 2009-02-18中俄签订250亿美元石油协议 2009-02-18美俄两颗卫星太空相撞 2009-02-12俄罗斯银行寻求外债重组 2009-02-10


Russia's first budget deficit in a decade will reach 8% of gross domestic product this year, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Wednesday, adding that further budget concessions are needed to allow spending to contain the economic crisis. Speaking at the annual State Treasury meeting, Mr. Kudrin said Russia faces a very painful year. 'A deficit of 8% is the maximum amount we can afford in the current situation,' he said. A bigger shortfall would fuel inflation beyond the already high forecast of 13% to 14% for this year, he added. Most money to cover the deficit would come from the Reserve Fund, one of two funds consisting of windfall oil revenue. That revenue comes from taxes paid by exporters when oil rises above $27 a barrel. The Kremlin has been working on the budget since early January. It will be ready by March 8, Mr. Kudrin said, but is a work in progress, as about one trillion rubles ($27.89 billion) of planned spending must be reallocated to meet the deficit target and fund efforts to contain the financial crisis. The task isn't easy, said Mr. Kudrin, a 12-year veteran of the Finance Ministry, because Russia will also see 2009 budget revenue drop 42% from estimates, amid plunging oil prices. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, whose popularity is starting to flag as Russians endure the worst crisis in a decade, ordered a new budget to be based on an oil price of $41 a barrel -- compared with the $95-a-barrel average price assumed earlier. 'Not many countries face such drastic budget revisions,' Mr. Kudrin said. Last week, President Dmitry Medvedev criticized the government for an 'unacceptably slow' response to the crisis. Lidia Kelly