European Commission raises Russian 2017 GDP growth outlook to 1.7%

MOSCOW, Nov 9 (PRIME) -- The European Commission has improved its forecast for Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2017 to 1.7% from 1.2%, it said in a report Thursday.

The forecast for 2018 was raised to 1.6% from 1.4%. In 2019, the European Commission expects the Russian economy to grow 1.5%.

“Overall, recent dynamics are expected to remain broadly in place, supporting an upward revision of GDP growth to 1.7% in 2017. However, growth is expected to moderate slightly to around 1.5% in future years, reflecting the conclusion of large capital investment projects already in 2017,” the report said.

Unemployment in Russia is projected at 5.4% in 2017 and 5.2% in 2018, compared with earlier forecasts of 5.7% and 5.6%. In 2019, the level of unemployment is seen at 4.9%.

The updated forecast encompasses Russia’s inflation of 3.9% in 2017, 3.7% in 2018, and 3.5% in 2019.

End