Russia's Economy Ministry has changed its 2016 forecast to predict economic contraction rather than slight growth and has lowered its average oil price assumption to $40 per barrel, a draft document showed on Friday.

The ministry's base scenario sees gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking by 0.8 percent in 2016, while a conservative one predicts a 1.0 percent decline, according to the document seen by Reuters.

Two senior Russian governmental officials involved in budget discussions confirmed the authenticity of the document, drafted last month.



Russia is being forced to revise its economic assumptions as a result of a further slide in the oil price — now below $30 per barrel and well below the $50 per barrel that had been assumed for government planning.