Central Bank of Russia expects govt to return to normal seasonality in budget spending - dep governor

MOSCOW. April 2 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia expects the government to return to normal seasonality in budget spending, CBR Deputy Governor Alexei Zabotkin said in the State Duma.

He said budget spending was elevated in January-February due to more active advance payments for government orders.

"This expenditure was carried out in the framework of the budget plan that the State Duma approved for this year in the autumn in the federal budget law. Inversely, there will be less seasonality in December, when most payments for completed government contracts usually take place. If more was advanced in January-February, then there will be less left to pay in December. So January-February does not affect the overall fiscal policy picture for this year. We will await the data for March, they will be available in just a couple of weeks. There is every reason to believe that the government returned to normal seasonality of expenditure in March," Zabotkin said.

But he said the predictability of fiscal policy and budget execution in accordance with the approved parameters are very important for the predictability of the Central Bank's monetary policy.

"We work on the basis that budget execution in accordance with the federal law, adopted in the autumn, will make disinflationary contribution to demand dynamics this year," Zabotkin said.