Russia's budget deficit exceeds $68 billion over 8 months

The Russian Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday that the federal budget deficit reached 5.79 trillion rubles (approximately $68.32 billion), equivalent to 2.5 percent of GDP, during the first eight months of the current year.

According to the ministry, total federal budget expenditures amounted to 31.72 trillion rubles from January to August, representing a 14.7 percent year-on-year increase.

In a press release, the ministry stated that the acceleration in the pace of federal budget expenditure execution in January and August 2026 was due to the speeding up of contracting procedures and advance financing for certain contractual expenditures.

Meanwhile, preliminary estimates showed that total federal budget revenues reached 25.93 trillion rubles during the period, up 9.2 percent compared to the same period in 2025.

The ministry attributed the decline in Russian oil and gas revenues during the first eight months of the year primarily to the weakness of the US dollar and lower oil prices in the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.