The price of Russian oil has climbed to its highest levels since the autumn of 2023 amid the war surrounding Iran, Bloomberg reports. According to the agency, the surge in global energy prices has delivered additional gains to Moscow and strengthened budget revenues.
Urals, Russia’s benchmark export crude used for calculating taxes on oil companies, rose this month to its highest level since October 2023.
According to data from Russia’s Federal Tax Service, the Finance Ministry will calculate May tax payments for the oil sector based on an average Urals price of $94.87 per barrel and an exchange rate of 76.938 rubles per dollar. That corresponds to nearly 7,300 rubles per barrel—18 percent higher than a month ago and roughly 60 percent above the level seen a year earlier.
Urals Price in Rubles, January 2023—May 2026
Rising oil revenues have already allowed Russian authorities to resume replenishing the sovereign reserve fund and abandon plans to cut certain non-priority budget expenditures.
Bloomberg notes, however, that the budgetary impact could have been even greater had it not been for the strengthening of the ruble. Russia’s currency has been supported by high interest rates, reduced imports, and increased foreign-currency sales by exporters amid rising global commodity prices.
This month the ruble reached its strongest level against the dollar since February 2023.