INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Iran, according to analysts at BCS Bank.Urals was trading at 5,000 rubles ($65) per barrel on
The original budget had assumed a price of 6,700 rubles ($87.10) per barrel, while a revised forecast in May from the Economic Development
Ministry set the target at 5,300 rubles ($68.90).Although Urals averaged around 5,900 rubles ($76.70) per barrel in the first quarter of
2025, oil and gas revenues still fell by 10% year-on-year.By May, the decline had accelerated to 34%, with total receipts from energy
Ministry.The government now expects to collect 8.3 trillion rubles ($107.9 billion) in oil and gas taxes this year, 2.6 trillion rubles
($33.8 billion) less than initially projected.The resulting budget deficit is set to soar to 3.8 trillion rubles ($49.4 billion), more than
triple the originally planned figure and the highest since the Covid-19 pandemic.Analysts warn that a full-scale oil price surge could be
triggered if Iran follows through on threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime chokepoint between the Persian Gulf and the
targeted oil storage facilities and infrastructure at the South Pars gas field, the largest in the country.If the strait is blocked, oil
prices could spike well into the triple digits, with $130 per barrel potentially just the beginning, analysts at BCS warned.But if the two
levels.Brent crude futures were trading at $73.65 per barrel as of 2:40 p.m
