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HONG KONG, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Russia's economy may not grow at all this year as it feels the impact of the financial crisis and the government will probably increase support for banks to ensure their liquidity, its finance minister said on Monday.
With the government's gross domestic product growth forecast ranging from zero to 2 percent, inflation will remain high with Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin forecasting inflation of 13 percent this year, well above a government forecast last November for 8 percent inflation in 2009.
Speaking at a conference in Hong Kong, Kudrin said he expected falling demand will push oil prices below the International Energy Agency's forecast of just over $40 a barrel for 2009.
The drop in price meant Russia was facing a bigger challenge than many other countries even though the oil price is not as low as 10 years ago, he said.
"We cannot change (the) basic trend, but we can do our best to support the economy."
Russia would preserve convertibility of its rouble
"In 2011 we'll try to make it even smaller," he said.
The country remains committed to liberalising its financial markets but the financial crisis showed that some sectors should be better regulated and there should be greater auditing.
"Our decisions will be aimed at better transparency so investors know the risks better," he said. (Reporting by Susan Fenton and Kevin Plumberg; Editing by Jan Dahinten)