Page 13 - RUSRptAug18

3.0 Macro Economy 3.1 Macroeconomic overview
After reporting slight recovery in industrial output in April , first-tier data of Russia Rosstat statistics agency showed improvements on the demand side as well, with retail trade increasing by 2.4% year-on-year in April , up from 2% growth seen in March.
Following bumpy macro data in the first quarter and disappointing output in March , " Russian industrial production showed some improvement , while the consumer side remained in good shape," Renaissance Capital commented on May 23.
Confirming the trend, the Ministry of Economic Development on May 23 estimated that GDP increased by 1.7% year-on-year in April, up from 1.4% in March and February and 1.1% seen in January.
In January-April overall, GDP growth is estimated at 1.3% y/y, flat as compared to 1.3% y/y preliminary estimate for the first quarter. Currently the government still expects 2.1% GDP growth for 2017, with the CBR forecasting 1.5-2% growth and Reuters analyst survey showing 1.7% GDP growth expectations.
3.2 Macro outlook
13 RUSSIA Country Report August 2018 www.intellinews.com