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.
29 January 2015, 12:52 GMT
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.
