ALBAWABA – Russian President Vladimir Putin said late on Tuesday that Russia’s economy was performing better than expected after Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin reported to him that gross domestic product (GDP) growth and inflation have been surprisingly positive.
GDP growth may exceed 2% this year and consumer price inflation may not rise above 5% in annual terms, Mishustin told Putin at a meeting at the Kremlin.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expected the Russian economy to grow 0.7% this year, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
"Our results, at least for the time being, let's say, cautiously, are better than previously expected, better than predicted," Putin said, according to a transcript on the Kremlin's website.
Reuters’ analysts poll, at the end of June, forecast Russia’s GDP growth at 1.2% and inflation at 5.7% in 2023.
Russia's economy contracted 2.1% in 2022 and was under particular pressure in the spring of last year when Kyiv's allies imposed sweeping sanctions against Moscow over its military campaign in Ukraine.
According to Reuters, Russia's technocrats have helped to offset some of the blow by repurposing the economy and propelling it with cash.
The finance ministry said earlier that public spending was 26.5% higher year-on-year in the first five months of the year.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov repeatedly underscored that Russia's budget deficit this year would not exceed 2% of GDP, although most Reuters’ analysts disagree.
The IMF also expects Russia to see a sharply larger deficit this year.
