Russia's federal budget executed within plan in 2024 at deficit of 1.7% of GDP - finance minister

MOSCOW. Jan 17 (Interfax) - The Russian government executed the federal budget within the previously planned amount in 2024 at a deficit of 1.7% of GDP, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters.

"It will be the same," he said in response to the relative question regarding the actual amount of the deficit in 2024 amid the plan of 1.7% of GDP.

The budget law initially envisaged a deficit of 1.595 trillion rubles, or 0.9% of GDP, in 2024, and it was increased to 1.1% of GDP, or 2.120 trillion rubles, last spring.

The deficit was later estimated at 3.296 trillion rubles, or 1.7% of GDP, after the government received the right to increase the total volume of federal budget expenditures by up to 1.5 trillion rubles in 2024 without running the changes through parliament. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at the end of December said that the final budget execution parameters would "fit" into the expected 1.7% of GDP.