Russian finance minister calls oil price of $45 'balanced'

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on Wednesday said a price of $45 per barrel of oil was "balanced" for both suppliers and consumers.

In an interview with the Rossiya-24 state TV channel, he also said that budget revenues from oil and gas sales had dropped by 18 percent this year due to weaker prices.

Benchmark Brent crude oil front-month futures currently trade at over $56 per barrel.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Kevin Liffey)