MOSCOW, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Russia's budget surplus for the first nine months of 2024 stood at 169 billion roubles ($1.73 billion) or 0.1% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared to a deficit of 331.4 billion roubles one month earlier, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.
The surplus also compares to a deficit of 0.8% of GDP in the same period of 2023.
The ministry stated that the budget's oil and gas revenues surged by 49.4% in January-September due to higher prices for oil, Russia's main export commodity, exceeding its earlier forecast baseline level.
"In the coming months, a steady excess of oil and gas revenue over the baseline level is also expected," the ministry said.
The ministry reported that all budget revenues increased by 33.2% compared to the same period last year, reaching 26.3 trillion roubles. Non-energy revenues were up 26.9%.
The ministry submitted next year's draft budget to parliament for review on Sept. 30 and adjusted this year's figures, raising spending by 7.5% compared to the initial plan, with the full-year deficit at 1.7%.
The published budget execution figures suggest accelerated spending by the state in the remaining weeks of the year, with the traditional peak in spending in December.
The spending spree in October-December will account for 34% of the full-year total, further fuelling inflation in the first half of 2025 and delaying the reversal of the central bank's current monetary tightening.
($1 = 97.5455 roubles)
Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya Writing by Maxim Rodionov and Gleb Bryanski Editing by Ros Russell
Source: Reuters