Vladimir Putin held his annual media conference, presidential web page reports.
In his opening remark, he outlined some facts regarding national development. He specifically said, “In the first nine months of 2018, GDP increased by 1.7%. Industrial output was growing at 2.9% in the first ten months of 2018. Processing industries have been growing at a pace of 3.2%”.
According to the President, “In the first three quarters fixed capital investment increased by 4.1%. Cargo shipments and retail trade increased by 2.6%. According to the latest statistics, real incomes will increase by 0.5%”.
As he noted, “The unemployment rate is going down. If last year it hit a historical low of 5.2%, this year it will be 4.8%. The trade balance surplus is growing. In 2017, it was around $115 bln. As of the end of the year, we expect it to reach $190 bln. Our gold and foreign currency reserves have grown by over 7% and now they stand at almost $464 bln”.
“For the first time since 2011, we will have a budget surplus of 2.1% of the GDP”, the President said and also pointed out that life expectancy has reached 72.9 years while “The average annual insurance component of the retirement pension stood at RUR 13,677 ($204)”.