BOFIT Weekly Review 2016/35
Fixed investment in Russia increasingly goes to oil & gas production
The total volume of fixed investment fell over 4 % y-o-y in the first half of this year (down over 8 % in 2015). Rosstat estimates that small firms and grey economy investment fell well over 10 %, which is about the same as in the 2009 recession. The three-year drop in other investment moderated considerably, with the decline in the first half only amounting to about 1 % y-o-y.
In core branches, the developments largely resemble those of previous years. Growth in fixed investment in oil & gas production remained strong for the third year in a row. However, in other parts of the energy sector, i.e. oil & gas pipeline transmission and electrical power generation and distribution, last year’s large drop in investment persisted quite strong. The slide in oil refining investment that began last year became considerably steeper. In other manufacturing, the drop in investment of last year stabilised; the investment remained roughly at the same level as last year.