Toughening fiscal rule will make ruble exchange rate more predictable - Siluanov

ST. PETERSBURG. June 5 (Interfax) - The easing of the fiscal rule over recent years, when expenditure called for additional funds, has led to the strengthening of the ruble exchange rate, and it is now time to return to the previous, tougher version of the fiscal rule, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at a business breakfast organized by Sberbank at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026), commenting on speeches made by representatives of large businesses, concerned by the over-strengthening of the ruble.

"Now onto the fiscal rule [...]. Yes, we really do see that the exchange rate is strong, and this is partly due to the easing of the fiscal rule, because expenditure needed to be sourced and we needed resources. The country needed resources. The fiscal rule was eased up a bit, the exchange rate strengthened as a result, and the budget began to play less of a part on the currency market," he said.

"We have now come to understand that we need to return again to the policy that we had before, and the exchange rate will be more predictable. Therefore, the budget is at the head of everything," Siluanov said.

In the preparation of the draft federal budget for the next three-years, the government is considering lowering the cut-off price in the fiscal rule further. Current legislation stipulates lowering the cut-off at a rate of $1 each year to reach $55 per barrel by 2030, from the current $59. At the end of February this year, before feedstock markets became volatile due to the conflict in the Middle East, Siluanov said that the government was considering amending the fiscal rule by lowering the baseline price amid a shortfall in oil and gas revenues.

On Thursday, Siluanov said again that the cut-off would need to be lowered in future and that this would be put forward as a proposal.