Russia's economic recovery: waiting

Rosstat reports that seasonally and workday-adjusted industrial output recovered in March, after a weak February. In the first quarter, industrial output was virtually at the same level as it was a year ago. Thanks to higher natural gas production, the trend has been positive for the extractive sector, with output rising by over 1 % y-o-y in the first quarter. Seasonally adjusted manufacturing output recovered in March, but for the first quarter output was still down almost 1 % y-o-y.

Rosstat noted that retail sales, which in January and February were supported by large pay-outs to pensioners, contracted slightly in March. For the entire first quarter, retail sales were down by nearly 2 % y-o-y.