Page 19 - RusRPTJun19

Moscow officials to deliver results. This is made all the more difficult thanks to global growth slowdown now occurring thanks to structural factors as well as the US-China trade war, sure to negatively impact Russian consumption if oil prices collapse after shorter-term spikes due to a tight physical market. State- led spending will insulate the country from the worst of it, but consumers don't seem to trust the state to get it done. Only 25% of respondents expressed confidence that their financial situation would improve, and only 14% said they ready to spend money. Between 2014 and 2017, confidence ratings dropped from 82 points to 69 points. Rosstat figures show real wages declined 2.9% year-on-year in 1Q this year. 79% of respondents felt that Russia was already in a recession.
Business confidence, however, has been doing much better with April turning in another month of -2%. There was a wobble last autumn, but since the start of this year business has been cautiously optimistic about how the rest of the year will turn out.
2.13 Putin & government’s popularity
The mood of the population in Russia improved in April as approval ratings rose mildly across the board, according to the latest political polls from independent pollster the Levada Center, with the increase in approval of regional governors being the most noticeable winner.
19 RUSSIA Country Report June 2019 www.intellinews.com