UPDATE: Cbank: Easing restrictions to allow for econ recovery in Jul–Sep

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MOSCOW, Jun 3 (PRIME) -- Easing restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic will create conditions for Russia’s economic recovery already in the third quarter, although gross domestic product (GDP) decline will continue in the second half of the year, the central bank said on Wednesday.

The regulator expects that the annual growth rate of GDP will be negative in the second quarter due to the significant impact of restrictive measures to curb the coronavirus epidemic on economic activity.

“The gradual softening of restrictions both in foreign countries and in Russia will create conditions for the restoration of economic activity in the third quarter. Nevertheless, in the second half of the year, the annual rate of economic growth will remain negative,” the report said.

The central bank projects that Russia’s GDP will fall by 4–6% in 2020.

Alexander Morozov, head of the central bank’s research and forecasting department, said that Russia’s economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic will be gradual.

“We see space in terms of the level of the economic decline in Russia. But there are reasons to expect that the recovery process will be fairly gradual, definitely not V-shaped,” he said.

The central bank will have more opportunities to soften its monetary policy as the restrictions in the economy are removed, Morozov also said.

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