Moscow, Oct. 5 (Petra) -- The Russian Ministry of Finance announced Monday that revenues from oil and gas exports declined by about 17% year-on-year during the first nine months of the current year, reaching nearly $64.4 billion, despite a significant rise in Russian oil prices.

The Russian Finance Ministry said in a statement that lower production and exports and the appreciation of the ruble in global markets limited the budget's benefit from rising crude prices and that disruptions in maritime shipping affected export volumes.

//Petra// AF