Russian industrial output growth accelerated in April

After three months of lower growth this year, industrial output growth accelerated in April to 4.6 % y-o-y. For the January-April period, industrial output grew by 2.8 % y-o-y.

Growth in mineral extraction industries has slowed slightly from the strong performance 0f 2H18, but on-year growth during the first months of this year was still close to 5 %. Production of crude oil and natural gas rose by 3.5 % in January-April.

Growth in manufacturing output accelerated in April, even if on-year growth in January-April was just 2.2 %, less than half the growth pace of the mineral extractive sector. The outcome of the first four months of the year was quite weak in the machinery & equipment category, likely due to a substantial cut in government procurement spending. In contrast, rapid growth continued in many industries producing consumer goods, including food and pharmaceuticals.

The rise in nominal wage growth has slowed this year. In January-April, wages were up 6.6 % y-o-y. On-year growth in real wages in the first four months of the year was 1.4 %. Even so, the contraction in real disposable incomes continued.