Attendees at the Metalloobrabotka exhibition in Moscow , Russia .
“ Russia ’ s economy saw a contraction of 3.1 % in 2020 , with 3 % growth forecast in 2021 by the International Monetary Fund .”
Russia ’ s 2020 economic downturn reflected the joint impact of a crash in oil prices and COVID-19 lockdowns . The Russian economy shrank by an estimated 3.1 % in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic .
Reuters commented that ‘ the economy ministry had last predicted that GDP would contract by 3.9 %’. Economic contraction in 2020 , it explained , ‘ was related to restrictive measures aimed at fighting the coronavirus and to a drop in global demand for energy resources , according to the statistics service , Rosstat ’.
“ In early 2020 , before prices for oil , Russia ’ s key export , slumped and the COVID-19 pandemic gained pace , the economy ministry had predicted GDP to grow by 1.9 % after 2.0 % growth in 2019 . The Russian economy ministry expects GDP to return to growth in 2021 , expanding by 3.3 %,” added Reuters .
Manufacturing in focus
RUSSIA IN FOCUS
We examine the impact of COVID-19 on Russia ’ s economy and manufacturing activity .
The IHS Markit Russia Manufacturing PMI decreased to 51.1 in March 2021 from 51.5 in the previous month , pointing to the third straight month of expansion in the sector , as both output and new orders continued to grow . Meanwhile , new export orders continued to fall , with the rate of contraction softened from February ’ s solid decline . At the same time , employment was unchanged , ending a two-month sequence of expansion .
“ On the price front , input cost inflation eased to a five-month low , and it was well above the series trend . As a result , output charge inflation slowed slightly , but was nonetheless the second sharpest for over six years . Finally , business sentiment was the second highest since January 2020 , amid hopes of uptick in client demand and planned investment ,” said Markit Economics .
According to IHS Markit , January PMI ® data signalled renewed improvement in the health of the Russian manufacturing sector .
“ Overall growth was the quickest since last August , as output and new orders returned to expansion . Also driving up the headline figure was a further marked lengthening of suppliers ’ delivery times . As a result , cost pressures remained substantial with many firms choosing
According to the World Bank , the Russian economy contracted in the second quarter of 2020 by eight per cent and the third quarter of 2020 by 3.4 per cent