Russia

Outlook improves further

It is increasingly clear that the economy has put the worst of the economic downturn behind it, as growth in industrial production has returned to positive territory after more than a year. As a result, the outlook is improving and growth is likely to rebound strongly this year, buttressed by rising oil prices and a turnaround in the domestic sector. In addition, after inflation ended the year at the lowest level in modern history, the Central Bank continues to ease monetary policy aggressively, lowering the policy rate to a new historic low, as inflation will likely continue to moderate throughout the year.