MOSCOW: Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose 10.9% year-on-year in May, the economy ministry said on Thursday, as the oil-dependent economy continued its recovery from the pandemic shock of 2020.
In the first five months of 2020, GDP grew 3.7%, the ministry said, rebounding from the corresponding period of 2020, when the economy took a hit from a sharp drop in oil prices and lockdowns designed to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“As a month earlier, non-commodity sectors, such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing gave the main support to GDP,” the ministry said in a statement.
It also revised April economic growth to 10.8% from a previously reported 10.7%.
The GDP figures underpin the general trend of economic rebound in Russia after GDP contracted by 3% in 2020, its sharpest in 11 years.
This year, the economy is expected to expand by around 3%, the economy ministry predicts, while the central bank expects GDP to grow by 3%-4%.
Russia’s unemployment rate fell in May to 4.9%, data showed on Wednesday, markedly below analysts’ forecasts and heading towards pre-crisis levels targeted by President Vladimir Putin.
But high inflation and a weak rouble are clouding the outlook, prompting the central bank to tighten monetary policy.
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