Finance Ministry Releases Preliminary Budget Figures

According to preliminary estimations, the surplus of the federal budget in the period from January to April 2003 amounted to 31.7bn rubles ($1.02bn), which was 0.8 percent of the forecasted GDP volume in this period, the department for relations with state and public organizations of the Russian Finance Ministry reported. According to the ministry's estimations, the primary surplus was 121.3bn rubles ($3.9bn), which was 3.2 percent of the forecasted GDP in the first four months of 2003.

Budget revenues in the reported period were 804.7bn rubles ($25.87bn), which was 21 percent of the GDP. Budget expenses were 773bn rubles ($24.85bn).