The Russian Economic Development Ministry is currently not planning to adjust its forecast for the growth of Russia's GDP in 2019, expected to reach 1.3 percent, despite the fact that the GDP growth in the first quarter of the year turned out to be lower than expected
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st May, 2019) The Russian Economic Development Ministry is currently not planning to adjust its forecast for the growth of Russia's GDP in 2019, expected to reach 1.3 percent, despite the fact that the GDP growth in the first quarter of the year turned out to be lower than expected, Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said on Tuesday.
Oreshkin's remarks came amid fears voiced by some of the experts, suggesting that Russia may experience a technical recession at the end of the second quarter of the year, if the GDP growth rate falls for two quarters in a row. According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service's preliminary data, the country's GDP growth in the first three months of 2019 amounted to 0.5 percent, while the ministry expected it to stand at 0.8 percent.
"The [figures of] the first quarter are just preliminary information, they can change both ways. And we did expect such weak dynamics. So we will see. Especially given the fact that from the point of view of GDP, the first quarter shows the smallest GDP," the minster told reporters, when asked if the ministry would change its forecast for 2019.
Oreshkin added that the main reason behind the slowdown was low demand, which is due to tax- and budget-related factors, and fewer corporate loans and mortgages.
In 2018, the growth of the country's GDP reached 2.3 percent.
