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☆ How Russia has avoided bankrupting itself after 2 years of waging war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

1: By waging war outside its own bordersOne critical reason Russia's economy is still ticking is because of the location of the war. AdvertisementConsider the impact of the war on the economies of both Russia and Ukraine. In 2022, the first year of the war, Russia's economy contracted 1.2%, according to official statistics. Russia was facing a demographic crisis with a declining population and falling fertility rate even before its war with Ukraine. 4: By stimulating and steadying its economy with subsidies and policiesGovernment subsidies, spending, and policies are also propping up Russia's economy.

Persons: —, Hassan Malik, Loomis Sayles, it's, Malik, Vladimir Putin's, Sergei Guriev, Malik isn't, Alex Isakov, Putin, Alexandra Prokopenko Organizations: Service, Business, Reuters, US, Exchange, European Bank for Reconstruction, Bloomberg Economics, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies Locations: Russia, Moscow, Boston, Crimea, Ukraine, Russian, China, India, Austrian

☆ Analysis-Russia's GDP Boost on Military Spending Belies Wider Economic Woes
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

Other economists say Russia is pumping the economy with one-time, unproductive investments that yield limited future benefit. 'NOT ALL GROWTH IS GOOD'The International Monetary Fund expects Russia's economy to grow faster than all G7 economies this year but less than emerging European economies. Military expenditure has supported economic growth of countries at war throughout history. According to Rosstat, Russia's labour productivity index, one of Putin's key national development goals, fell 3.6% year-on-year in 2022, its steepest annual fall since the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2009. "I don't see current economic growth as lasting or qualitative," said Nadorshin.

Persons: Darya Korsunskaya, Alexander Marrow, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Khestanov, Alexandra Suslina, CAMAC, Rosstat, Anton Kotyakov, Yevgeny Nadorshin, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Darya, Gareth Jones Organizations: Statistics, Reuters, Soviet Union, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Labour, PF, Central Bank Governor Locations: Russia, Ukraine

MOSCOW, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Russia's industrial output growth slowed in October as the unemployment rate dropped to a record low 2.9%, federal statistics showed on Wednesday, with deepening labour shortages showing signs of cooling Moscow's military production capacity. Analysts say wages are growing faster than productivity and the central bank has warned of the impact it has on inflation. Industrial output rose 5.3% year-on-year in October, down from a 5.6% rise in September and driven once again by military production. Rosstat said industrial output had grown since March at a monthly rate of more than 5% compared with the corresponding months of 2022. But when discounting seasonal factors, industrial production dropped 0.4% in October, Rosstat said.

Persons: Maxim Oreshkin, Vladimir Putin, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Rosstat, Alexander Marrow, Darya, Alex Richardson, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Kremlin, Reuters, VW, Central Bank Governor, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Volkswagen's, Moscow, Ukraine, Putin's Russia

☆ Putin is urging women to have as many as 8 children after so many Russians died in his war with Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

President Vladimir Putin is urging Russians to have more children. Russian birthrates are falling amid war in Ukraine and a deepening economic crisis. AdvertisementRussian President Vladimir Putin is urging women to have as many as eight children after so many Russians are dying in his war with Ukraine, worsening the country's spiraling population crisis. "Many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, had seven, eight, or even more children," said Putin. The war in Ukraine has led an estimated 900,000 people to flee the country.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, —, Le Monde, Alexei Raksha Organizations: Service, Russian People's Council, UK's Ministry of Defence, Ukraine, AFP, RFE Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Meduza, Rosstat

MOSCOW (AP) — The shelves at Moscow supermarkets are full of fruit and vegetables, cheese and meat. But many of the shoppers look at the selection with dismay as inflation makes their wallets feel empty. The bank now forecasts inflation for the full year, as well as next year, to be about 7.5%. Maxim Blant, a Russian economy analyst based in Latvia, sees that as an indication that prices will continue to rise sharply. That keeps the cost of imports high, even as import possibilities shrink due to Western sanctions.

Persons: weathers, can’t, Roxana Gheltkova, Lilya Tsarkova, “, Rosstat, Maxim Blant, that's Organizations: MOSCOW, Central Bank, Associated Press, U.S Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Latvia

Prior to the February 2022 invasion, Chinese cars accounted for less than 10% of the Russian market. Russia has jumped from 11th place to become China's largest export market for cars, reaching a value of $9.4 billion in January-October, Chinese customs data showed. Overall, monthly car sales in Russia are now more than double what they were a year ago, Autostat data showed, while separate data from federal statistics service Rosstat showed car production was nearly three times higher in September year-on-year, underlining the sector's partial recovery. 'UNSTABLE, SHAKY' MARKETSanctions against Russia contributed to lower car production and sales most notably in 2022, but also after Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Meanwhile, the rouble's slide to 100 against the dollar this year has made imports more expensive, depressing purchases of Chinese cars.

Persons: PPK, Sergei Udalov, Udalov, Russia's, Natalia Zubarevich, Zubarevich, Gleb Stolyarov, Alexander Marrow, Zoey Zhang, Vineet Sachdev, Mike Collett, White, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Chery, Geely, HK, West shuns, Autostat, Russia, Western, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Moscow State University, Wages, Lada, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Soviet, Beijing, China, West shuns Russia, Western

☆ Almost half of Russians say salary does not cover basic spending - survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The number of Russians who say their salary does not cover basic spending has jumped by 20 percentage points in two years to almost half, a survey by recruiter Headhunter showed, as Moscow diverts record fiscal resources to funding its war in Ukraine. Asked whether their salary was enough to cover basic spending, without taking into account income from second jobs or investments, just one in five Russians surveyed said yes. That is up from 25% in 2021 and 39% in 2022, Headhunter's survey showed. Of the 45% lacking the money for basic spending, more than half said they were at least 20,000 roubles ($212) short per month. The average monthly nominal wage earned by Russians was 71,419 roubles ($756) in July, Rosstat's statistics show.

Persons: Evgenia, Headhunter, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones Organizations: U.S ., Russian, REUTERS, Rights, Bank of Russia's, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine

☆ EU officials say sanctions against Russia have had 'hard tangible effects,' and that the country's future is bleak
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sanctions on Russia have had a withering effect on Moscow's economy, the European Union said. That's one of the main reasons why Russia's economic future looks "bleak," according to one official. Despite Putin's show of defiance, scholars say Russia is in a far worse state than the Kremlin has let on. The European Union imposed 11 rounds of sanctions against Russia starting shortly after it invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Russia's energy revenue tumbled 45% over the first quarter of this year after the EU oil ban took effect.

Persons: Josep Borrell, Borrell Organizations: European Union, Kremlin, Service, Union, Russia, EU, European Commission, Organization, Economic Co Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Moscow, Europe

Oleg Panteleev, head of the AviaPort aviation think-tank in Moscow, said Russian airlines have "solved the problem" of operating under Western sanctions. When those firms stopped providing services – Lufthansa Technik said it suspended sales to Russia from Feb. 28, 2022 – Russian airlines turned to a pool of far smaller suppliers. Ivan Melnicov, chief executive of Air Rock and another aircraft parts distributor in Moldova called Aerostage Services, denied selling products to Russia. Most of the shipments listed in Russian customs records as having been made by Air Rock and Aerostage took circuitous routes, transiting through the UAE or Kyrgyzstan. He said Skyparts had procured one of the Northrop Grumman parts from a U.S. supplier but denied ever sending it to Russia.

Persons: Paul Hanna, Northrop, Oleg Panteleev, Kirill Skuratov, Northrop Grumman, Ivan Melnicov, Melnicov, Aerostage, Kafolati Komil, Mahmadbashir Yakubov, Kafolati, Skyparts FZCO, Lisa Barrington, Saeed Abdulloev, Skyparts, Karine Bukrey, Ramses Turizm, Bukrey's, Ramazan, Bukrey, Akpinar, Nordwind, Valery Pashaev, Pashaev, Maurice Tamman, David Clarke, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Ural Airlines Airbus, Palma de Mallorca, REUTERS, Rights, U.S ., Northrop Grumman, Central Asia, Airbus, Boeing, Ural Airlines, Northrop, United Arab Emirates, Western, Reuters, of Commerce, European Union, Russian, S7 Airlines, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Aeroflot, Lufthansa Technik, Engineering, Rock Solutions, Air Rock, Aerostage Services, Airlines, UAE, Istikloliyat, Skyparts, Nordwind Airlines, Thomson Locations: Palma de, Spain, Russian, Yekaterinburg, U.S, Moscow, Russia, Central, Ukraine, Tajikistan, UAE, Turkey, China, Kyrgyzstan, Swiss, Germany, Moldova, Air, Moldovan, Saudi Arabia, Komilchon, Ural, Dubai, United Arab, Turkish, Antalya, Nusret, Technic, New York

May 31 (Reuters) - Russia's unemployment rate dropped to a record low 3.3% in April, data showed on Wednesday, highlighting the labour shortage that is stifling economic growth, while other indicators painted a mixed picture. Retail sales, a key gauge of consumer demand, fell 0.1% compared with March and industrial output dropped 5.0%. Excluding seasonal factors, economic growth slowed to 0.2% in April, the ministry said. Russia's market has changed drastically since the sanctions war began, Tsukhlo said, with mass-market and expensive brands alike leaving the country. "(They) could have been replaced by Russian light industry products, but there is no one there to produce them," he said.

Persons: Sergei Tsukhlo, Tsukhlo, Alexander Marrow, Darya, Alison Williams Organizations: Russia's Gaidar, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian

☆ Russian economy shrank 1.9% in first quarter, statistics service says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 17 (Reuters) - Russia's economy shrank 1.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, data from the Rosstat federal statistics service showed on Wednesday, following growth of 3% in the same period of last year. Russia's economy defied early expectations of a double-digit collapse in 2022, but still contracted 2.1% after the West imposed sanctions in response to Moscow despatching troops to Ukraine in February. The economy ministry this month estimated that gross domestic product (GDP) had fallen 2.2% in the first quarter, while the central bank has predicted a 2.3% decline. That follows a 2.7% drop in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Rosstat data. Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya and Alexander Marrow; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia's domestic stock investors, shut off from the international financial system, have helped send the Moscow Exchange to a 12-month high
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's benchmark MOEX index is trading at levels not seen in over 12 months. The MOEX Russia Index has gained 24% so far this year after tanking 42% in 2022. The benchmark MOEX Russia Index on the Moscow Exchange hit a high of 2,646.18 on Thursday — its highest level since early April 2022. Despite the surge in the MOEX index, trading volumes in its equities market fell 41% from a year ago amid sanctions. The MOEX Index ended at 2,634.96 on Friday.

☆ Russia's weekly consumer prices rise quickened in late March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, April 5 (Reuters) - The rise in Russia's weekly consumer prices quickened at the end of March, data from state statistics service Rosstat showed on Wednesday, with authorities still fighting to slow inflation. Russia's central bank held the key interest rate at 7.5% last month, maintaining a hawkish stance as a widening budget deficit and labour shortages pose ongoing inflationary risks. On Wednesday, Central Bank Deputy Governor Alexei Zabotkin maintained that hawkish signal, addressing the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament. Consumer prices rose 0.13% in the week to April 3, Rosstat said, compared with a 0.05% rise the previous week. Russia's annual inflation rate in 2022 was 11.9%, almost three times the official 4% target.

Last week's official data showed annual industrial output decline slowed in February, largely thanks to the defence sector, offsetting some of the damage wrought mainly by sanctions on Russia's key energy exports. Russian industrial output fell 1.7% year-on-year in February after a 2.4% drop in January, data from the federal statistics service Rosstat showed. Polevoy estimated that non-defence industrial production shrank about 8% year-on-year, while output of sectors with a high share of state defence orders jumped 36%. The decline in energy revenues has pushed Russia's budget deficit to $34 billion in January-February, compared with a surplus of $4 billion in 2022. LONG-TERM DECLINEAn independent study last month suggested Russia's middle class will shrink as social inequality grows, even if sanctions get relaxed.

☆ Russia's corporate profits dropped 21.3% in Jan, business climate worsened
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Russia's economy proved unexpectedly resilient last year, but a return to pre-conflict levels of prosperity may be far off as more government spending is directed towards the military. The January drop in profits followed a 12.6% slump in 2022 and was accompanied by lower business confidence. Russian companies' profits amounted to 2.18 trillion roubles in December, a 22.5% drop from 2.81 trillion roubles in December 2021, the Rosstat data showed. Among the 4,600 organisations surveyed, the number that expect output to rise over the next three months is still higher than those expecting output to fall, Rosstat said. ($1 = 77.3455 roubles)Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya and Alexander Marrow Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

MOSCOW, March 29 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday pointed to record low unemployment and marginally higher real wages as evidence of a gradual economic recovery, although data showed that consumer demand and industrial output dropped in February. Data from the Rosstat federal statistics service showed that unemployment dropped to 3.5% in February, a record low, while real wages, which are adjusted for inflation, rose 0.6% in January. Retail sales, a key gauge of consumer demand, fell 7.8% year-on-year in February, while industrial output dropped 1.7%. But that decline, combined with double-digit inflation meant that real disposable incomes fell 1% in 2022, according to Rosstat, with real wages only now starting to pick up again. "The population's wages and real disposable incomes have again started growing in real terms in the country as a whole," Putin said.

☆ Analysis: Russian economy holding up but the road back to prosperity may be long
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"The Russian economy and system of governance proved to be much stronger than the West supposed," President Vladimir Putin told Russia's political, military and business elite this week. 'GUNS NOT BUTTER'He also argued for sustainable domestic development and a self-sufficient economy, recalling a criticism levelled against Soviet leaders so focused on military spending they ignored people's welfare. But Russia is ramping up military spending, and diverting funds from hospitals and schools will ultimately hamper the development of civilian economic infrastructure. Prokopenko, who also highlighted the opportunity cost to the economy, said Russia's financial leadership had become used to navigating crises. Putin can be proud of his 'Fortress Russia' that his financial leadership built for him," she said.

☆ Russia says its economy did better than expected, one year into the Ukraine war. But experts say there's a red flag behind the announcement.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

According to Russia's federal statistics service, the country's GDP contracted by 2.1% in 2022. However, Russia stopped publishing some key economic data last year, throwing up a red flag. While this contraction reversed a 5.6% GDP growth in 2021, it did far better than an 8.8% to 12.4% contraction that Russia's economy ministry projected in April 2022. The war in Ukraine triggered heightened concerns over issues related to energy security, particularly about natural gas exports — which Europe was reliant on. The EU's ban on Russian oil imports from December sent countries rushing to load up before the embargo kicked in, which helped prop up Russia's energy coffers.

☆ Putin tells business elite: Don't beg for Western money, invest in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. "Trying to run around with your hand outstretched, grovelling, begging for money, is pointless," Putin said in a televised address to Russia's political, military and business elite. "Launch new projects, make money, invest in Russia," he said. Either way, those estimates are a far cry from Moscow's early fears of a double-digit drop as Western sanctions hit. Putin extolled Russia's limited economic contraction last year as evidence of the country's resilience.

That left used cars accounting for almost three quarters of all cars sold, up from 55% in 2021, the data shows. Russians turn to used cars as production falls, prices rise"Money flowed into the used cars market as prices for second-hand cars held up, while at the same time the structure of the new cars market changed significantly," Autostat CEO Sergei Udalov told Reuters. At 2.5 million roubles, his Skoda was around 1 million roubles more expensive than it would have been a year earlier, but still 1 million roubles cheaper than a brand new version. Imports of used cars jumped last year, with those from Japan leading the way. Japan has curbed exports of high-value cars to Russia, but used cars imported by individuals fall outside the restrictions.

☆ Russia's 2022 economic fall seen in lower incomes, slumping consumer demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Real disposable incomes fell 1% in 2022, preliminary data from the Rosstat federal statistics service showed. Real wages, which are adjusted for inflation, rose 0.3% year-on-year in November, just the second positive reading since March. Unemployment remained at a record low 3.7% in December, matching the figure for November. Hundreds of thousands of Russians fled the country when the mobilisation was announced, while around 300,000 were drafted into the army. Reporting by Alexander Marrow and Darya Korsunskaya; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe collapse to a post-Soviet low
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Vladimir Soldatkin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russian direct gas exports to Germany, Europe's largest economy, were halted in September following blasts at the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Sweden and Denmark have both concluded that four leaks on Nord Stream 1 and 2 were caused by explosions, but have not said who might be responsible. Russian gas exports via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline totalled record-high 59.2 bcm last year. The 100.9 bcm of Russian gas pipeline supplies, which Gazprom defines as exports to "far abroad", or outside the former-Soviet Union, is one of the lowest since the collapse of the Soviet state in 1991. One of Gazprom's previous post-Soviet lows of gas sales to "far abroad" was at 117.4 bcm in 1995, according to Gazprom Export.

☆ Russia improves Q3 economic contraction to 3.7% y/y - revised data
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. MOSCOW, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Russia's economy shrank 3.7% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2022, revised data from the federal statistics service Rosstat showed on Wednesday, an improvement on the previously reported 4.0%. Officials and analysts have been gradually improving GDP forecasts for the full year, but suggested that the overall drop in output may be more prolonged, though less sharp, than first expected. After growing 3.5% in the first quarter, the Russian economy has now slipped into recession, with 4.1% and 3.7% contractions in the subsequent two quarters. Russia's economy ministry forecasts GDP to fall 2.9% in 2022 as a whole.

☆ Russian economy shrinks 1.7% in Jan-Sept, but capital investment up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Capital investment rose 5.9% year-on-year between January and September to reach 16.418 trillion roubles ($271.65 billion), Rosstat said. Data also showed that retail sales, the gauge of consumer demand, declined 9.7% in October in year-on-year terms after a 9.8% fall in the previous month. All that comes as consumer prices climbed for the 10th week running, perhaps giving the central bank pause for thought. The Bank of Russia is widely expected to keep its key rate unchanged at 7.5% when its board meets on Dec. 16. ($1 = 60.4390 roubles)Reporting by Alexander Marrow and Darya Korsunskaya; Editing by Mark TrevelyanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia's economy has finally fallen into recession, 8 months after it invaded Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's GDP fell 4% on-year in the third quarter of 2022 — its second straight quarterly decline. This followed a 4.1% year-on-year decline in its second-quarter GDP — meaning the country has fallen into a technical recession after two straight quarterly contractions. Nabiullina's assessment of the economy followed months of intensifying sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. And while firm energy prices had propped up Russia's economy for a while, the tide seems to be turning — in part, due to President Vladimir Putin's partial mobilization order that sent many fleeing the draft. Russia's central bank expects the country's economy to contract by 3% to 3.5% in 2022, Nabiullina said on Tuesday, according to an official transcript.

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