OREANDA-NEWS. The Russian economy is less vulnerable to external shocks, primarily the fall in oil prices, than the economies of most oil exporting countries. This conclusion was reached by experts of the rating agency Moody's, whose report was reviewed by the Russian media.

“Russia is more resistant to external shocks than most oil exporters, given its flexible exchange rate and the large amount of foreign currency in reserves”, the report said. Experts expect that as a result of falling oil prices, the Russian budget will become scarce, with a gap of less than 1% of GDP in 2020, after the budget showed a 5.3% surplus in 2019”, the agency said.

At the same time, falling oil prices will cause serious budgetary problems in OPEC countries. The debt of Saudi Arabia may already exceed 30% of GDP in 2020, Oman - 70%. Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq will also have to deal with budgetary problems due to falling oil prices.