Page 24 - RusRPTApr21

have been hoping for a return to normality, but it will take some months yet.
The gap between March’s result and that of last year is still largely due to a high base effect and the collapse in retail sales only kicked off in week 10 last years when the first restrictions were imposed.
However, the level of the index in March is also down from the peak of the post-lockdown recovery last autumn by 14.5% when the index rose to a high of 429. March’s level is also down by a similar amount from the end of year level of 421, but on a par with the first week of this year of 377.
The outlook for the rest of the year remains uncertain, but analysts believe the economy will start growing in the second quarter and will put in over 3% growth in a bounce back this year.
2.12 Russian business and consumer confidence
Optimism amongst Russia’s businesses picked up strongly in February,
according to the latest IHS Markit Business Outlook survey, the consultant reported in a note on March 11.
“The net balance of companies expecting a rise in business activity (+19%) improved from a record low in October (+6%) and was among the highest over the past two years,” Markit said in a press release. “That said, among the countries for which comparable data are available, Russian firms were the
24 RUSSIA Country Report April 2021 www.intellinews.com