IMF raises Russian GDP outlook again

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its growth forecast for the Russian economy in 2023 in its World Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday.

Russia’s GDP is expected to grow 1.5% this year, an upwards revision from the 0.7% increase that the IMF predicted in its April report.

IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas acknowledged that Russia was able to maintain “quite a bit of momentum in the economy” by taking very strong fiscal measures.

The current revision reflects a strong first half of the year in a number of sectors such as retail trade, construction and industrial production, which were boosted by fiscal stimulus, according to the IMF.

That follows an estimated 2.1% contraction in 2022, when sweeping international sanctions over Russia's military operation in Ukraine largely shut out Moscow from Western markets and cut off energy exports to the EU.

Despite the upward revision for the current year, the organization maintained its 2024 GDP growth forecast for Russia at 1.3%, down from 2.1%, expecting labor shortages and the exit of Western companies to affect economic growth.

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