Russian economy showing more signs of recovery

Following a weak spell in June and July, Rosstat reports that seasonally and workday-adjusted industrial output increased slightly in August from July. The rise was 1.5 % y‑o-y and reached nearly 2 % y‑o-y for the January-August period. Manufacturing output increased a bit in August, raising January-August output to nearly 1 % y‑o-y. Mineral extraction industries saw an on-month contraction in output in July and August, but August as well as January-August output was still up by about 3 % y‑o-y. Several sub-categories within the extractive sector other than oil production had experienced booms this spring and summer, but most of them witnessed distinct slowdowns in recent months.

After a weak performance in the early summer, agricultural output revived significantly in August as delayed harvesting got underway and worked towards normal rhythms. Recovery in other major sectors of the economy continued. Construction increased for the fifth month in a row, and the volume of construction activity in August remained at 6 % y‑o-y. Growth in goods transport has increased also in recent months. For the January-August period, they were up by over 7 % y‑o-y.

The volume of seasonally adjusted retail sales increased slightly in August. Sales have recovered gradually over the past half-year. They climbed to nearly 2 % y‑o-y in August. Food sales clearly picked up in August, while sales of non-food goods continued a gradual rise that started in spring.