Nigeria Be Warned: Russia Prepares for Oil at $40

Perhaps the Bank of Russia knows something the world doesn’t.

As the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies prepare to meet for a review of their production cuts this weekend, the central bank of the world’s biggest energy exporter is hunkering down for years of oil near $40 a barrel.

While analysts in a Bloomberg survey see the price of benchmark Brent crude — which trades at a small premium to Russia’s Urals export blend — rising 16 percent from current levels by the end of the year, oil’s 10 percent decline in March alone amid supply woes is making the market nervous. Russia, a key partner in the deal and a participant in the talks in Kuwait, might only add to those jitters.