Finance minister Anton Siluanov said this month that the country must adapt its budget to “new realities” [Xinhua]Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell 3.7 per cent in 2015, the Russian statistics agency Rosstat said in a report on the social-economic situation in the country on Monday, citing preliminary data.
Russian Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukayev told reporters in Moscow on Monday that the GDP dipping trend did not persist in December 2015.
“I don’t think the trend [of GDP contraction] will hold, according to my expectations. I don’t expect December [results] to worsen compared with November,” the minister said.
The Minister also claimed there was potential recovery in sight for oil prices.
“As for oil prices I agree that they have recovery potential. It’s a given that in 2015 the demand increased by around 1.5 mln barrels. The global economy grew by 3%, which means the demand will rise for sure,” the minister said.
According to Ulyukayev, the average annual oil price will be higher than $30 per barrel in 2016.
“I think there will be some kind of rebalancing. Average annual oil price will differ from today’s, it will be higher,” the minister said.
All eyes are now on the Russian Central Bank to check whether it changes the key interest rate at its board meeting on January 29.
“I don’t expect them to change anything,” the minister said in Moscow.
Western sanctions over Ukraine and the shockingly low-levels of oil prices have heavily impacted the Russian economy.
TBP and Agencies
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