UPDATE: Ministry improves Russia's 2021 GDP growth outlook to 4.2%

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MOSCOW, Sep 21 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Economic Development Ministry has improved the outlook for the gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2021 to 4.2% from 3.8%, Deputy Minister Alexei Khersontsev said at a meeting with the Federation Council, the parliament's upper house, on Tuesday.

"We have improved the outlook for GDP for this year to 4.2%," Khersontsev said.

The ministry changed the inflation forecast for 2021 to 5.8% as of the end of December from 5%, he said.

The ministry changed the forecast for average ruble exchange rate against the U.S. dollar in 2021 to 73.6 from 72.8, he added.

The Urals price forecast stands at $62.2 per barrel for 2022 and $55.7 for 2024.

Core capital investments will grow 4.5% in 2021, he said, confirming an earlier forecast. The outlook for capital investments in 2022 was reduced to 4.8% from 5.3%.

The industrial output growth forecast for 2021 increased to 4.2% from 2%. The forecast for 2022 shrank to 3.3% from 3.6%.

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