Russian economy stable thanks to soaring foreign reserves – Putin
Russia is financially stable despite sanctions, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Central Bank officials on Tuesday. Higher reserves and falling dependence on oil are the key factors, according to the president.
“The financial market remains stable. That is thanks to the joint actions of the government and the Central Bank. Our foreign exchange reserves have increased by 5.7 percent since the beginning of this year and are already at $459 billion,” Putin said.
The Central Bank and the government have been working together to slash oil dependence in the Russian economy, which reflects in lower inflation and a more stable ruble, said the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, Sergey Shvetsov.
Russian foreign reserves consist of foreign exchange, special drawing rights (SDR) holdings, the reserve position in the IMF, and monetary gold. They reached their highest level before the global crisis of 2008 at $598 billion.
The economy shows growth, too, Putin noted. “In general, the picture in the Russian economy is generally positive. Industrial growth for eight months amounted to 3.1 percent, including manufacturing production that grew by 3.8 percent,” the president said.
Putin also noted the consistently low inflation and unemployment. “In August, unemployment fell to 4.6 percent, which is a record low, and inflation in September was 3.4 percent.”
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