Interfax: Russian GDP could grow more than 2% in Aug, 2017 – Oreshkin

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PARIS. Aug 29 (Interfax) – Russian GDP growth could quicken to more than 2% in August, Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin told reporters in Paris.

The economy could also grow more than 2% for 2017 as a whole, he said following a meeting with French business leaders.

“We expect growth [year-on-year GDP growth] will return to more than 2% as early as August and that we’ll have more than 2% for the year as a whole” he said.

“When we first voiced the 2% GDP forecast for 2017 at the end of December 2016, the market forecasts were about 1%, no one believed that the Russian economy could begin intensive growth. We had 2.5% growth in the second quarter. Some, apparently, would like to explain away the pessimistic mood they had at the beginning of this year, but reality is so far demonstrating that the economy is feeling well, confident. We are seeing that economic growth is gaining momentum,” he said.

“Yes, July was indeed a somewhat weak month, but it is being called weak because growth was 1.5%, which at the beginning of the year many did not expect. We are seeing that August GDP growth is accelerating. According to the initial data that we have for electricity consumption and freight loading, we have a positive trend,” Oreshkin said.

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