Russia's revenue falls sharply in January from year earlier

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's finance ministry said Monday that budget revenue in January was 35% lower compared with the same month in 2022, the last month before Russia sent troops into Ukraine.

The ministry also said the budget deficit for January was 1.77 trillion rubles ($23.9 billion), about 60% of the shortfall that had been planned for the entire year.

Oil and gas revenue, the backbone of Russia's economy, was down 46% compared with January 2022.

Western countries have declared a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian crude oil as well as ceilings on refined oil products like diesel fuel and gasoline.

Russia has said it won’t sell oil to countries observing the limit, but the cap and falling demand from a slowing global economy has meant customers in China, India and elsewhere can buy Russian oil at steep discounts, cutting into the Kremlin’s revenue.

The country also has been hit with an array of Western sanctions since the start of the Ukraine conflict and many Western companies have stopped doing business in Russia.