MOSCOW, January 29 (Sputnik) — The Russian Ministry of Economic Development is preparing a revised macroeconomic forecast for 2015 based on oil prices at around $50 per barrel, Economic Development Minister Ulyukaev said Thursday.
"We are taking as a basis the external factors, namely — the oil price of $50 per barrel," Ulyukaev said.
The minister emphasized that this scenario could be considered "excessively conservative," as many experts believe that the oil price will be higher.
Earlier this month, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stated that the country would lose around 3 trillion rubles (around $43 billion) in revenue if oil prices average at $50 per barrel in 2015.
Earlier in January Sberbank head German Gref said that he expected oil prices to stabilize at around $60-$70 in the next few years.
Oil prices have been declining since summer 2014 amid market oversupply. During a November 2014 meeting OPEC announced it would not change oil output levels, triggering a further drop in global oil prices.
Current oil prices stand at $43.90 per barrel of WTI and $48.57 per barrel of Brent, according to Bloomberg.
