Putin: Cbank, government keep Russia’s financial market stable

MOSCOW, Oct 16 (PRIME) -- The Russian central bank and the government have maintained stability of the country’s financial market, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday at a government meeting.

“Stability of the financial market has been maintained thanks to joint actions of the government and of the central bank as well. Our foreign exchange and gold reserves have grown 5.7% since the beginning of the year to U.S. $459 billion,” he said.

The condition of the Russian economy is positive in general from the point of view of the key indicators. Industrial output expanded by 3.1% in January–August, while inflation and unemployment are at their lowest, he said.

“The inflation and unemployment figures are consistently low. Unemployment contracted to 4.6% in August, it is at a record low,” he said.

“In the first half of the year, investment in fixed capital of companies and organizations increased by 3.2%. The transport cargo turnover also grew (by 3% over the first eight months of the year), as well as retail trade (by 2.7%).”

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