Tepid growth outlook for Russia

The January update of the IMF's World Economic Outlook sees a slightly stronger revival in growth for advanced economies than in its October forecast, but the global growth outlook remains essentially unchanged. The IMF lifted its outlook for China's GDP growth this year to 6.5 % (up from 6.2 % in October) thanks to expected policy stimulus, while the pace of economic growth in nearly all other emerging and developing economies is expected to be slightly below earlier projections., China and India together should account for nearly half of global economic growth this year. The forecast risks include a possible shift towards protectionism in some economies, and a more severe growth slowdown in China.

Despite a substantial rise in oil prices at the end of last year, Russia's economic growth should only slightly exceed 1 % this year and next. The updated IMF forecast is well in line with other forecasts, including the most recent forecasts of the World Bank, EBRD, CBR and BOFIT.