The average cost of Russian oil Urals for the period from December 15, 2022 to January 14, 2023 dropped below $ 50 per barrel – up to $ 46.82, Russian Ministry of Finance said.
The average cost of the Brent international standard brand was $ 81.5 per barrel, that is, the price difference between Brent and Urals in December-January was $ 35, or 43%, MMI Telegram channel notes.
The spread regarding Brent has reached a record level.
The Urals discount reached $ 35-40 per barrel in March 2022, shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine, but then began to gradually decrease.
URALS now costs much less than the Russian authorities were counting when they were the country’s budget for 2023: they predicted oil at $ 70.1 per barrel. $ 45 is already a critical price for the budget, experts say. They warned that at such a price of oil, they would soon have to adjust the budget rule. Now it assumes that the Ministry of Finance compensates for the outgoing budget revenues through the sales of Yuan from the National Welfare Fund. At such a rate of sales will have to be suspended already in 2024, says the MMI Telegram channel.