Evgeny Goryunov, Head of Monetary Policy Department at the Gaidar Institute, commented for RBC on the stability of the Russian budget and the National Wealth Fund (NWF) amid low oil prices.
The expert assured that current spending to compensate for lost oil and gas revenues does not threaten the financial “safety cushion.” “The fund is far from being depleted,” said Evgeny Goryunov. According to his estimates, “a red line can be considered a decrease in liquidity to Rb250-300 bn.” Evgeny Goryunov predicted that “at the current rate, this will not happen for at least five years.”