RUSSIAN OIL MINISTRY10 Mar 2020 11:42
Russia says ready for oil prices to drop to $25-$30/b as ruble hits 4-year low
in Oil & Companies News10/03/2020
Russia’s finance ministry hurried to give a reassurance that the national economy could withstand oil prices falling to $25-$30/b after the ruble hit a four-year low against the dollar.
Oil prices plunged around 30% as trading opened in Asia on Monday in response to OPEC and Russia’s failure to reach a deal on production cuts. The drop caused the Russian ruble to fall to 75 to the dollar, the lowest since March 2016.
Despite a public holiday in Russia, the finance ministry released a note Monday, confirming it would sell foreign exchange reserves to mitigate the drop in the oil price and support the ruble.
“These funds are sufficient to cover the shortfall in income from falling oil prices to $25-$30/b for six to 10 years,” the ministry’s press release said.
On Friday, Russia refused to sign a deal with OPEC and its non-OPEC allies on additional production cuts for the rest of 2020 to counter fall in demand caused by the spreading coronavirus.
According to energy minister Alexander Novak, Russia and other producers are free to pump oil at will after the current OPEC, non-OPEC deal expires on April 1.
Russia’s energy ministry and major oil companies have yet to react to the steep fall in prices.