Economy continues to recover
At the beginning of 2021, Russia’s economy continued to bounce back as the epidemic situation improved. As before, the economic recovery was supported by accommodative monetary policy and fiscal measures. These are the findings presented in the new issue of the macroeconomic bulletin Talking Trends prepared by the Bank of Russia’s Research and Forecasting Department.
Heterogeneity across industries remains high: a range of industrial sectors have already increased their output to or above pre-pandemic levels, while a large number of industries still have their output significantly below these levels.
Demand-side pressure containing inflation is gradually weakening, while a range of segments are facing an acceleration of price growth driven by higher demand. A lot of countries, including Russia, have recorded a steadier and longer-lasting impact of proinflationary supply-side factors than expected earlier. Overall, this was the reason why the growth of consumer prices remained elevated in early 2021. Annual inflation has risen close to its local peak and will decrease by the end of April owing to the low base effect.
The views and recommendations expressed in the bulletin do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Bank of Russia.