Russia's oil and gas revenues, which account for about one-fifth of total federal budget revenues, rose 32.4% year-over-year in May to 678.9 billion rubles ($9.3 billion), according to data from the Ministry of Finance, amid rising crude oil prices following the war in the Middle East, Reuters reports, as noted by Agerpres.

Compared to April, revenues fell by 20.7%, as companies paid their corporate income tax, which is due periodically.

Russia, the world’s third-largest oil producer and exporter after the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, has benefited significantly from rising crude oil prices as a result of the war in the Middle East. These revenues are the Kremlin’s most important source of cash, given the high defense and security spending following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In the first five months of this year, Russia’s oil and gas revenues fell by about 30% year-over-year, to nearly 3 trillion rubles. Russia’s 2026 budget projects oil and gas revenues of 8.92 trillion rubles.

Last year, Russia’s oil and gas revenues fell by 24% to 8.48 trillion rubles, the lowest level since 2020.

source – AGERPRES