Russia’s economic growth this year may turn out higher than the forecast of the Economic Development Ministry, said head of the ministry Maxim Oreshkin at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, according to the Kremlin website.
It is worth reminding that the basic GDP growth prognosis for 2019 was only 1.3%. In the beginning of the year the economy was almost brought to a halt, with a 0.5% growth, which did not seem to bother Oreshkin.
“We expected this,” the minister explained.
Maxim Oreshkin assured the President that the inflation rate “is now starting to slow down.”
“By the end of the year, economic growth will also begin to accelerate. The increase of VAT is better tolerated by the economy than many expected.”
The minister believes that as a result, the economic growth may in fact exceed the expected 1.3% although he did not specify how high GDP may surge.