Medvedev: GDP 2019 growth slows down on sanctions, trade wars

GORKI, Moscow Region, Jun 19 (PRIME) -- Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed down at the beginning of 2019 because of the sanctions and global trade wars, and the government should take steps to spur it up, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday.

“The dynamics are worse at the beginning of this year. There are, of course, objective reasons, including market instability, deceleration of the global economy, investor wariness, low consumer demand, sanctions and the evolving trade wars,” he said. “The government’s financial and economic block should, of course, take the risks into account.”

The Federal State Statistics Service estimated Russia’s GDP growth in January–June at 0.5%.

The Economic Development Ministry projects the growth at 1.3% in 2019.

Medvedev also said that the government should make an additional effort to stimulate the domestic economy already in 2019.

“We need additional measures to heat up the economy this year. I am sure that the rising investment in the national projects will produce results. But we need to think about what is happening now, this year.”

In 2018, Putin signed a decree on Russia’s national goals and strategic development tasks till 2024, in which he ordered the government to ensure the country’s entry into the top five of global economies, a higher than global rise of the national economy, and inflation not exceeding 4%.

Medvedev said that he had signed an order preventing prices for public utility services from rising above the inflation level.

The government hopes that mortgage rates will gradually fall to below 8% annually in 2024 in Russia, he also said.

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