OLGA IZRYADNOVA: “THE RUSSIAN ECONOMY DEMONSTRATED SUSTAINABLE RECOVERY IN H1”

Olga Izryadnova, Head of the Gaidar Institute’s Structural Policy Department, said in her interview with The Independent Newspaper that over the course of H1, the Russian economy was characterized by positive trends in demand and supply recovery. This was her commentary on Russia’s economic growth forecast for 2021 released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to the IMF estimates, the Russian economic growth forecast for 2021 has improved to 4.4%, from its previous forecast index of 3.8%. Alongside the improved forecast for Russia’s GDP growth towards the end of this year, the IMF downgraded the corresponding forecast index for the next year from 3.8% to 3.1%. At the same time, the global economic growth estimate for 2021 remains unchanged, at 6%. The IMF’s global economic growth index for 2022 now stands at 4.9%, which is 0.5 percentage points (p.p.) above the corresponding estimate released in April.

 “A significant effect on the consumer market was produced by the accumulated deferred demand for goods, especially non-food durable goods, and the demand for leisure services. The dynamics and structure of foreign trade turnover against the backdrop of a changing world market and market demand situation have also displayed their positive effects,” she added.

Meanwhile, the key sectors of Russia’s national economy and the labor market are demonstrating their rapid recovery, but these processes have also been accompanied by increasing inflation. President Vladimir Putin instructed the RF Central Bank and the RF Government to coordinate their efforts in suppressing Russian inflation, which depends on the US dollar emission and global price growth.