Russia's economy will most likely contract this year, the central bank's governor, Elvira Nabiullina, said at a press conference on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th April, 2020) Russia's economy will most likely contract this year, the central bank's governor, Elvira Nabiullina, said at a press conference on Friday.
"According to our assessment this is not a forecast yet GDP this year will be in the negative zone. We really refined our estimates compared to the previous ones due to the fact that the situation is developing very fast, and we see that this year, unfortunately, the economic growth will be negative," Nabiullina said.
The economy will be most hit in the second quarter, and there is still a chance to avoid a recession, Nabiullina noted.
"Speaking of a recession, these are usually two quarters of negative growth rates. We basically assume that the main negative effect will be in the second quarter and the third quarter will be better in relation to the second and will be positive. Therefore, maybe we can avoid a recession," she added.
The governor noted that the Bank of Russia would conduct an in-depth analysis of the situation and, most likely, would radically revise its forecast in the near future.
