Russian oil output at post-Soviet record

Russia's crude output set another post-Soviet record in December, according to Energy Ministry data, as the nation's producers seek to withstand the slump in oil prices.

The country's crude and gas condensate production increased to 10.825 million barrels a day last month, beating the previous record set in November by 0.4 per cent, Bloomberg calculations based on the data show.

Output for the year increased 1.4 per cent compared with 2014, exceeding 534 million metric tons, or almost 10.726 million barrels a day, according to the preliminary information e-mailed from Energy Ministry's CDU-TEK unit.

Russian crude producers have been setting post-Soviet records even amid plunging prices and US and European Union sanctions that cut access to foreign financing and technology.