Russian Q1 economic growth slows to 1.6 percent

• Last year, Russia's economy, long battered by Western sanctions and highly dependent on high prices for its energy exports, saw growth slow to 1.3 percent from 2.5 percent in 2018.

MOSCOW: Russia's economic growth slowed to 1.6 percent in the first quarter, the state statistics agency said Tuesday, before the full impact of the coronavirus and low oil prices becomes visible later this year.

The preliminary estimate by the Rosstat agency for the first three months of 2020 was lower than both the economy ministry's forecast of 1.8 percent and the growth rate for the final quarter of 2019 when Russia's gross domestic product expanded by 2.1 percent.

The economy was boosted by agriculture, industry, trade and food services.

The full effects of the coronavirus epidemic and low oil prices will be clear when data are released for the second quarter.

Last year, Russia's economy, long battered by Western sanctions and highly dependent on high prices for its energy exports, saw growth slow to 1.3 percent from 2.5 percent in 2018.

The Kremlin had hoped to revive the economy with the help of a hugely ambitious "national projects" programme launched last year, but low oil prices and the coronavirus outbreak have disrupted those plans.

The nationwide lockdown, which was enforced in late March and is only beginning to be gradually relaxed, has weighed heavily on the Russian economy, with entire industries grinding to a halt.