Russia swings to $29 billion first-quarter budget deficit

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russias federal budget deficit came in at 2.4 trillion roubles ($28.93 billion) in the first quarter of the year as Moscow spent heavily and energy revenues fell, the finance ministry said on Friday.

In the same quarter of 2022 Russia posted a surplus of 1.13 trillion roubles, but since then significant outlays to support Russias military campaign in Ukraine, and Western sanctions on its crucial oil and gas exports, have hit government coffers.

The finance ministry stopped publishing monthly budget fulfilment data last year. But based on Fridays data, Russia posted a surplus in March of 181 billion roubles, improving on monthly deficits of 821 billion roubles in February and 1.76 trillion roubles in January.

Russia‘s overall government income was down 20.8% during the quarter compared to 2022 at 5.7 trillion roubles, led lower by a 45% fall in energy revenues to 1.64 trillion roubles, the finance ministry’s preliminary data showed.

Spending, meanwhile, accelerated 34% to 8.1 trillion roubles. Rising military production and huge state spending have helped keep Russia‘s industry buzzing and soften the economic fallout of Russia’s campaign in Ukraine and the impact of Western sanctions.

($1 = 82.9500 roubles)

(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya and Alexander Marrow; Editing by Jason Neely, David Goodman and Mark Heinrich)