Russian President Vladimir Putin at his annual end-of-year news conference in Moscow, December 17, 2015.
Sergei Karpukhin | Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday the $50 per barrel price for oil factored in the 2016 budget was too optimistic and the government needed to make adjustments.
"We had calculated next year's budget based on $50 per barrel. This is a very optimistic valuation today. Now it's already $38. That's why we will have to correct something there," Putin said at his annual news conference.
He said the peak of the economic crisis in Russia had passed but the government's forecasts for 0.7 percent economic growth in 2016 and 1.9 percent growth in 2017 were based on assumptions the oil price would be $50 per barrel.