Upward trend in Russian economy continues – Putin
The Russian economy has recovered and is growing, according to President Vladimir Putin. Last year, Russian GDP grew after the recession of 2015 and 2016.
“The positive dynamic in the Russian economy goes on. We have a lower than expected budget deficit; our gold and foreign exchange reserves are growing. The Russian economy is on the rise, and this trend continues,” Putin said on Wednesday.
The World Bank data says the Russian economy grew 1.7 percent last year. The same figures can be expected this year as well, the forecast says.
Economists like former finance minister Aleksey Kudrin have warned that the Russian economy could grow faster only if the Kremlin implements structural reforms.
Inflation in Russia remains at its lowest level since the collapse of the Soviet Union, falling to 2.5 percent last year. Rapid growth in consumer prices has long been considered one of the biggest woes of the Russian economy.
Given the low inflation, the central bank plans to gradually cut the key rate to 6-7 percent per annum from the current 7.75 percent.
The historical minimum of the key rate in Russia was in 2013 at 5.5 per year. The all-time high is 210 percent in 1993.
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