MOSCOW, February 19 (RIA Novosti) - The oil price forecast for 2007 has been reduced from $61 to $55 per barrel, a deputy Russian finance minister said Monday.
Tatiana Golikova said oil price forecasts will also be reduced from $56 to $53 per barrel in 2008, and from $52 to $50 in 2009.
She said the forecast "will be adjusted downward."
She said the three-year budget will first be drafted against the backdrop of a fall in oil prices.
Golikova said the three-year draft will also take into account a reduction of customs duties as part of Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization.
