Bank of Russia expects GDP growth to accelerate in Q2

The continued recovery in supply and demand, coupled with favourable external conditions, is poised to support the output of products and services in the second quarter of 2017. According to the Bank of Russia’s estimates unveiled in the current  issue of ‘Economy’, an analytical commentary, annualised GDP growth in the second quarter may increase twofold against the previous quarter.

Production activities posted growth in April. Annualised manufacturing output, adjusted for calendar effects, rose to a record high for the period since January 2015. Industrial outputs were shored up by the cold weather, which caused a substantial rise in electrical and heat energy production in April, and recovering domestic demand.

The period also saw a continued rebound in investment. In this way, estimates suggest that fixed capital investment rose faster than the average monthly reading seen in the first quarter. This is evidenced by increased imports of engineering products, as well as a halt in the decline of construction and construction material output volumes.

Consumer demand was on the mend throughout April. No further contraction was observed in year-on-year retail volumes. In this context, there was an increase in the output of consumer products including durable goods, with sales of household appliances and cars rising in the last few months.