Russian central bank says recession over
RUSSIA’S central bank has said that GDP figures show the country is moving out of its protracted recession and returning to growth.
“The evaluation of the Russian GDP shows that the recession is now behind us and ahead is slow economic growth,” the bank said in a note on August 8.
The Bank of Russia estimated that growth in the second quarter of 2016 hit 0.2-0.3 percent and said it had boosted its forecasts to 0.4pc growth in the third quarter and 0.5pc in the fourth quarter.
Russia has been battered by the longest recession to hit the country during President Vladimir Putin’s more than 16 years at the helm caused by low oil prices and Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.
Officials have previously insisted the recession is slowing and economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev predicted that the economy will shrink by 0.2pc overall this year after a drop of 3.7pc in 2015.
International experts however remain more downcast on Russia’s prospects with the IMF forecasting GDP will shrink by 1.2pc this year.
The economic crisis has hit the spending power of average Russians hard as the ruble has tanked and the situation remains grim despite the apparent first shoots of recovery.
In a sign that the rebound is by no means certain the car industry announced yet further woeful results with sales in July dropping by some 16.6pc compared with the same month last year.
The car industry in Russia has been brutalised by the economic crisis and the latest statistics from manufacturers were even worse than the drop of 12.5pc in June.
Car sales in Russia have almost halved as the economic woes have bitten into a market that once drew large investment from foreign auto giants. –
Russian President Vladimir Putin has had to deal with the longest recession in his 16 years at the helm.