Russian Economic Development Ministry Plans to Lower 2015 GDP Forecast

MOSCOW, November 28 (Sputnik) — Russian Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukayev said Friday his ministry could slightly lower the country's GDP forecast for 2015 due to a current slump in oil prices and higher than expected inflation.

"We will most likely have to review our economic growth forecast for next year," Ulyukayev said in an interview with Russia's Channel 1 television.

According to the minister, the forecast will be lowered by only a fraction of a percent, though.

The ministry's current estimate of the country's GDP growth in 2015 is 1.2 percent.

Over the past five months, oil prices have fallen by about $40 per barrel. The trend became even stronger as the 12-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided on Thursday to keep the current daily oil production ceiling of 30 million barrels, immediately causing the price of Brent crude to fall below the benchmark level of $75 per barrel.

Energy exports make up around half of Russia’s budget. On Friday, Russian Ministry of Economic Development said it might be required to revise the budget plan for 2015-2017, which is based on an oil price of $100 per barrel.

In October, the ministry stated that it would be updating its forecast of inflation rates for 2014, raising the figure to 7.2 percent from the original 6 percent following Russian ruble’s sharp decline due to a fall in oil prices and geopolitical tensions over the Ukrainian crisis.