Russia ’s budget deficit plans are increasingly strained as the drop in oil prices outpaces the concurrent ruble slide stoked by U.S. and European sanctions. The CHART OF THE DAY shows the price of Brent oil, expressed in rubles, dropping below the level envisaged in the government’s 2015 budget. Even as crude tumbled, Russia’s budget has been shielded by the ruble, whose depreciation increases the local-currency value of exported oil and gas. Penalties imposed by the U.S. and EU, who accuse President Vladimir Putin of fomenting the Ukrainian crisis by aiding separatists, limit the country’s access to market funding and make deficit-financing more difficult. A weaker ruble may be needed for Russia to keep next year’s deficit at the planned 0.6 percent of gross domestic product, according to ING Groep NV. “The Russian government either accepts more ruble weakening or a higher budget deficit,” Dmitry Polevoy, the chief economist […]