Russia's economy shrinks 1pc y/y in Q1 -preliminary data
- The figures from the Federal Statistics Service Rosstat showed an improvement on the previous quarter's 1.8% year-on-year GDP drop, signalling that Russia's economy is still on course for recovery.
- Transport was the worst affected sector, contracting 34% in the first quarter, and the mining, services and retail industries also suffered setbacks, Rosstat said.
MOSCOW: Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) fell 1% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021, preliminary data showed on Monday, as the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic weighed on the economy.
The coronavirus outbreak paralysed business activity and caused the economy to shrink by 3% in 2020, prompting the central bank to slash interest rates to a record low 4.25%, while a drop in global oil prices dented Russia's revenues.
The figures from the Federal Statistics Service Rosstat showed an improvement on the previous quarter's 1.8% year-on-year GDP drop, signalling that Russia's economy is still on course for recovery.
Transport was the worst affected sector, contracting 34% in the first quarter, and the mining, services and retail industries also suffered setbacks, Rosstat said.
Water supply and waste disposal saw the biggest improvement, growing 11.9% year-on-year, with the supply of electricity, gas and steam climbing 9.5%.
In 2021, the Russian economy is expected to recover, with the central bank predicting it will rebound to pre-crisis levels by the end of the year to reach overall growth of 3-4%.
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