-Russia concerned about capital outflow due to US sanctions increase
The U.S. plans to expand sanctions against Russia remains one of the hot topics of discussion this week.
An important warning about potential capital outflow came last week from the head of the Monetary Policy Department at Russia’s central bank, Alexey Zabotkin.
The capital outflows from Russia due to new possible U.S. sanctions for Russian state debts have accelerated, Zabotkin said, adding, 'If the capital outflows increase further, it will take the Russian economy several quarters to recover.'
Reflecting the latest data on the subject, Zabotkin said that in the first three quarters of this year, capital outflows increased 2.3 times to $31.9 billion compared to 2017.
'If the capital outflow is further accelerated, it will take a few quarters to recover the Russian economy as it was in 2014-2015,' Zabotkin said.
The U.S. Senate is preparing a new set of sanctions against Russia due to its alleged involvement in the U.S. presidential elections held in 2016.
U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest advocates of sanctions against Russia, said in a statement on the bill that they are preparing a 'sanction bill from hell' to punish Russia.
-Russian economy grows 1.6 percent in 8 months
The Russian economy was reported to have grown by 1.6 percent in the January-August period of this year compared to the same period last year.
In a written statement from the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, it stated the economy grew by 1.1 percent in September compared to the same period last year, a further compression from the 1.5 percent growth in 2017 following a two-year recession.