The economic climate in Russia is much better than expected, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated during a press conference on Thursday.
“Everything is going much better than it could have gone,” he told reporters amid the recent weakening of the ruble along with diesel and gasoline shortages recorded in dozens of regions across the country over recent months.
At the same time, recent official reports indicate positive economic results overall.
The Russian Finance Ministry and the central bank expect the country’s economy to grow by 2.5% or more in 2023, while inflation is expected to be around 6%.
The World Bank and the IMF recently raised their forecasts for Russia, predicting that GDP would continue to grow amid strong trade and industrial production and higher-than-expected energy revenues.
Other reports also paint a favorable outlook for Russia’s economy. According to a recent World Bank report, Russia moved into the world’s top five largest economies in 2022 based on purchasing power parity (PPP), outpacing the EU’s largest economy, Germany.
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