Much of Russia's GDP growth spurt last spring came from inventories

Russian GDP grew in April-June by 2.5 % y-o-y. According to fresh GDP figures, however, much of the growth came from a build-up in inventories, suggesting that growth is still on a rather fragile base. Other domestic demand also recovered as household consumption grew by 3 % y-o-y and fixed investment rose by 6 %. The growth in demand was, however, largely directed to imports rather than domestic production, as the volume of imports grew by over 20 %. Growth in exports, which supports domestic production, slowed considerably from the first quarter. Both the Central Bank of Russia and the economy ministry estimate that GDP growth slowed to around 2 % y-o-y in 3Q17.