Russia’s Reserve Fund, which protects the budget against falls in oil prices, decreased by 15.7% in August to $32.2 billion as of September 1, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
The National Wealth Fund, designed to secure the country’s pension system, rose by 0.7% to $72.71 billion.
In ruble terms, the Reserve Fund fell by 18% to 2.1 trillion rubles and the National Wealth Fund decreased by 3.6% to 4.719 trillion rubles.
The ministry confirmed that it spent money from the Reserve Fund to finance the budget deficit in August. (Prime/Business World Magazine)