Russia's oil wealth fund rise to $197.4 bn

MOSCOW: Russia's two oil wealth funds totalled 5.24 trillion roubles ($197.4 billion) as of Nov. 1, up from $189.7 a month ago, Finance Ministry data showed on Saturday. The Reserve Fund, which serves as a safety cushion for the budget and is set at approximately 10 percent of Russia's GDP, totalled $134.60 billion, down from $140.98 billion on Oct. 1.

The National Wealth Fund, earmarked for riskier investments, stood at $62.82 billion, up from $48.68 billion a month ago. The Finance Ministry said that 170 billion roubles ($6.41 billion) of the National Wealth Fund's money had been placed on deposits at state bank VEB.