Vladimir Putin held a meeting, via videoconference, on economic issues, presidential web page reports.
“Many cooperation, trade and economic ties have been severed,” he said. “Due to the mandatory restrictive measures, the companies were forced to change their usual schedules. The situation is especially tough for small- and medium-sized businesses, as well as for the services sector. The most sensitive problem for companies is a reduction in demand. Thus, retail sales decreased by more than 35% in April in Russia. This indicates how sharply the market contracted. And for many enterprises this is a great shock.”
According to the President, “Another integral indicator of the state of the economy is energy consumption. Unfortunately, the dynamics are also negative. For the first 12 days of April, electricity consumption decreased by 5% compared to the same period last year. In addition, lending to the real economy has come to a virtual standstill. And this means that many companies’ investment plans, and enterprises’ development and renewal programs are on hold. In the first week of April, banks saw a sharp drop in the number of new mortgage loans. This cannot but affect the construction industry and related sectors.”