Revenues at Russia’s biggest gas and oil producers fell 41% in the first nine months of 2023, a financial stability report released by Russia’s central bank said on Thursday, amid falling exports and prices, Reuters reported. from Agerpres.

The price of Russian crude oil (Urals) fell by an average of 26% in January-September 2023, and exports through the Transneft pipeline network fell by 8% compared to the first nine months of 2022, according to the Bank of Russia. said

International sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, including the $60 per barrel crude oil price ceiling imposed by the G7 (a group of highly industrialized nations), have created a situation where Russian oil is being sold at a significant premium. price discount compared to Brent oil.

Russian oil producers reoriented exports to China and India, which created difficulties with payment. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that India wanted to pay for Russian oil in rupees and Russia’s central bank had asked exporters not to accept the currency. As a temporary solution, oil imports were paid for in a combination of Chinese yuan, Hong Kong dollars and UAE dirhams, the sources added.

But Moscow coped with the pressure better than analysts expected. Russia’s Ministry of Finance now expects the budget deficit to be around 1% of GDP in 2023, compared to the previously forecast level of 2% of GDP.

The head of the Russian energy giant Rosneft, Igor Sechin, criticized the Central Bank of Russia for not establishing a mechanism for cross-border payments.

In a report published on Thursday, Russia’s central bank said the share of Chinese yuan payments in total Russian exports rose to 35% in September from 13% in January, while the share of the ruble remained “significant” at 39% in September.