Regional Economy report: business activity and consumer demand trend upwards
Economic activity across Russian regions continued to increase in May—June, driven by the expansion of lending and higher government expenditures.
Companies’ expectations about consumer demand in the next few months edged down slightly, while staying close to their highs since March 2022. The monthly growth of consumer prices sped up, exceeding 4% in annualised terms.
Consumer activity also trended upwards. The main contributor in services and public catering was the increased tourist flow inside the country.
However, the growth of retail turnover was somewhat limited by insufficient supply of some non-food goods, namely cars. Persistent staff shortages pushed up wages.
The new issue of the report covers such special topics as automobile production, freight logistics in the new conditions, and the state of regional budgets in 2023.
More details are available in the new issue of the report Regional Economy: Commentaries by Bank of Russia Main Branches.