(Source: http://www.kr-news.ru/articles)

The Ministry of Finance forecasts the growth of the Russian economy in the fourth quarter of 2015 or in 2016, according to the statement of the Deputy Head of the agency Aleksey Moiseev.

“It is obvious that the positive impact of the rouble’s rate weakening on the competitiveness of the Russian economy can be seen with the naked eye. Taking into account a certain stabilization of the financial markets in the terms of credit costs, I think we may with some confidence say that there will be growth in the next year. Maybe we will notice some growth in the fourth quarter” - he said.

The Ministry of Finance expects that the national currency will grow stronger in the first half of 2016. “The rouble always grows stronger in the first half of the year. You can see it when you look at the last 20 years. The best period for the rouble is from late February to about the middle of May, and I think that there is no reason to expect anything else in the next year. I do not exclude that the rouble will grow stronger in this year, but it would be very strange not to see it in the next year with a much more substantial confidence” – Mr. Moiseev said.

Aleksey Moiseev also told that the Ministry of Finance had not yet decided on the price of oil which would form the basis of the federal budget for 2016. “This is one of the issues being discussed now, but of course, it will not be $ 40 per barrel” – “Interfax” quotes the words of the Deputy Minister.

At the same time Mr. Moiseev added that there was no certain understanding of what the price of oil would be in the near future. Let us recall that the August events in the oil market forced the government to reserve another month for budget planning.

The extra budget being developed at the suggestion of the Presidential Administration will be valid only in 2016. This gives no apparent advantages neither to the Ministry of Finance nor to the Ministry of Economy, nor to the socialist coalition of the government. The main problem that is being solved this way is the fact that they can wait for another four weeks until they have to make decisions on the reconsideration of the budget for 2016 and on the price of oil at $ 40 for one barrel.