Russian finance minister gives upbeat economic forecast

The Russian economy is growing at a faster pace than projected, with GDP expected to soar 3.9% this year, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced on Friday.

Siluanov told TV channel Russia-24 that GDP growth in the first half of the year amounted to 4.7%, which is “a very good figure.”

“We see investments growing, at around 8%, real disposable incomes of the population are also increasing,” the minister stated.

“The estimates for the dynamics of the economy for this year are also higher than we initially included in our forecasts … Last year, the figure was 3.6%, it was high, and this year we will exceed it,” he said.

Budget revenues are growing above last year’s level, having increased by 4.7 trillion rubles ($52 billion) to date, according to Siluanov. He attributed the jump to the growth of oil and gas revenues and to income from the domestic economy.

The country’s budget deficit is expected to be at about 1.1% of GDP by the end of 2024, according to the minister.

The budget will receive around $30 billion in 2025 from changes in the tax system, which will be directed to priority tasks, he also said.

In its April forecast, the Russian Economic Development Ministry predicted growth of 2.8% for 2024. The projection is expected to be revised in early September.

The World Bank has previously raised its growth forecast for the Russian economy, saying GDP will grow 2.9% this year and 1.4% in 2025. This is an upward revision from its previous projection of 2.2% and 1.1% growth, respectively. The World Bank said that Russian economic growth has defied Western sanctions.

The International Monetary Fund said in April it expects the Russian economy to grow faster than all advanced economies in 2024.