Russian cbanker sees ’16 GDP fall 1–3%, quarterly rise Oct–Dec

SHANGHAI, Feb 29 (PRIME) -- The Russian economy will return to a quarterly growth in October–December, but overall in 2016, gross domestic product (GDP) will contract in a range between 1% and 3%, Chairwoman of the central bank Elvira Nabiullina told reporters Monday.

“Depending on scenarios, a preliminary estimate of the GDP contraction is from 1% to 3%. We see a possibility in the basic scenario that by the end of the year, in the fourth quarter, we will reach a positive rate of growth, calculated on a quarterly basis,” Nabiullina said.

She said that there are still risks of economic contraction continuation but the GDP shrinking decelerated in January as compared to December 2015.

The central bank will release a new forecast in March, the risk scenario will be based on a U.S. $25 per barrel oil price, Nabiullina said.

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