Russian budget deficit widens to 4.58 trln rubles or 1.9% of GDP in Q1 - Finance Ministry

MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax) - Russia had a federal budget deficit of 4.576 trillion rubles or 1.9% of GDP in the first quarter of 2026, the Finance Ministry said in its monthly brief, citing preliminary figures.

The budget law targets a deficit of 3.786 trillion rubles or 1.6% of GDP for this year. The deficit in the first quarter of 2025 was 1.960 trillion rubles or 0.9% of GDP.

The Finance Ministry does not disclose monthly figures, but preliminary ministry figures put the deficit in the first two months of 2026 at 3.449 trillion rubles or 1.5% of GDP, so based on a comparison of these figures, the deficit in March can be estimated at about 1.1 trillion rubles.

Federal Treasury data, which are released after the ministry's preliminary estimates, showed that spending exceeded revenues by 5.57 trillion rubles in January-February, so a comparison of these figures paint a different picture of budget execution in March, showing a surplus of almost 1 trillion rubles for the month.

"High values for the size of the deficit at the beginning of the year are primarily due to advance financing of expenditures," the ministry said.

Budget revenues fell 8.2% year-on-year to 8.309 trillion rubles in the first quarter. Oil and gas revenues plunged 45.4% to 1.443 trillion rubles amid falling oil prices, which was less than the base target of 2.012 trillion rubles for the quarter, primarily due to lower oil prices. Non-oil and gas revenues grew by 7.1% year-on-year to 6.866 trillion rubles. Revenue from turnover taxes, including the value-added tax, rose 8.9%, with VAT revenue increasing by 10.3% to 4.048 trillion rubles.

Spending, according to preliminary estimates, rose 17% year-on-year to 12.885 trillion rubles. The ministry said the faster growth of federal spending in the first quarter was due to prompt signing of contracts and advances paid on certain contracted expenditures.

The federal budget targets revenue of 40.283 trillion rubles and spending of 44.07 trillion rubles for all of 2026.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has said that the deficit target of 1.6% of GDP for the year might have to be revised in light of a shortfall in oil and gas revenues at the beginning of the year, but this, along with statements about plans to tighten the parameters of the fiscal rule, was said before the surge in oil prices due to the war in the Middle East.