-Russian economy grows 1.8 percent in Q3 2017
According to data from the Federal Statistical Institute of Russia, the Russian economy grew by 1.8 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of this year.
The GDP of the country reached 24 trillion rubles ($407.4 billion), while the highest growth was recorded in transportation and storage with an increase of 4.3 percent.
In Russia, the agricultural sector grew by 3.9 percent year-on-year. Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said recently that with oil price stabilization, the economy is expected to grow by nearly 2 percent this year compared to the 0.2 percent shrinkage in 2016.
Meanwhile, the net capital outflow from Russia continues to increase. Russian Central Bank released a report that showed that capital outflow in the country increased by 241 percent with a rise to $28 billion in the January-November period this year compared to the same period of 2016.
It was reported that this capital outflow increase was mainly caused by the banking sector’s ongoing policy towards reducing foreign debts during this period.
Russia's current account surplus rose by 78.1 percent to $35.6 billion compared to the same period last year. An increase in the price of oil, Russia's main export product, was cited as the main reason for the positive contribution to the country’s current account balance.
Income from oil and gas is on the rise. According to the Federal Customs Service of Russia, the country's oil exports revenue increased by 28.9 percent year-on-year during the January-October period to $76.9 billion.
Natural gas exports during the January to October period increased by 22.1 percent to $29.8 billion. During the same period, Russia's natural gas exports volume increased by 6.3 percent to 168.2 billion cubic meters.
Russia has pledged to reduce its daily oil production by around 300,000 barrels per day as a result of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) oil cut extension pact.
Russia’s regulator believes that OPEC’s decision to extend the oil cut agreement to the end of 2018 would reduce risks in the Russian market
After Russia’s favorable economic performance, the Central Bank is continuing to reduce interest rates by half a point to 7.75 percent.