Russian Economic Development Ministry estimates March GDP growth at 0.9%

Russia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth was estimated at 0.9% in March 2014, as compared to 1.3% in March 2013, the Russian Economic Development Ministry wrote in its survey made public on Tuesday.

According to the ministry, the country’s GDP increase, exclusive seasonal and calendar factors, edged up 0.1% in March versus February 2014.In addition, the ministry updated the year-on-year GDP dynamics for this year’s January and February, thus raising the indicators to 0.7% and 0.9% respectively (compared to initial estimates of 0.5% and 0.3%). The aforesaid changes were connected with the Russian Statistics Service’s revision of 2011-2013 macroeconomic indices. The Statistics Service re-calculated the 2013 quarters’ dynamics and specified the low basis favourable impact on the assessment of this year’s first quarter. In January-March 2014, Russia’s GDP growth is preliminary estimated at 0.8%

Touching upon the factors promoting the country’s economic development, the ministry mentioned the growth of industrial production, resumption of the hike in the mining and processing industries, as well as pick-up of retail trade. Among the GDP stepping-down factors, the ministry mentioned the decline in the investment inflow and export of gas and transport.

According to the Economic Development Ministry, the March economic upward dynamics was mainly caused by the continued hike in the trade (4%) and industrial production (1.4%), which was supported by the growth in the processing industry production (3.5%) and mining output (0.6%). Touching upon the economic growth failing factors of March 2014, the ministry pointed to the pre-tax dynamics due to the oil-and-gas-export slide-down and the drop in the construction industry (3.1% decline), which was, in turn, caused by the investment demand reduction (4.3% decrease).In all, in the first three months Russia’s GDP, exclusive the seasonal factor, went down by 0.5%, as against October-December 2013. Thus, the decline in the dynamics was registered for the first time after three quarters of growth in row (from April to December 2013).