MOSCOW: Russian gross domestic product rose 2.9 percent year on year in June, the economy ministry said on Friday, helped by growth across a range of sectors. The ministry revised May GDP growth upwards to 3.5 percent from a previously reported 3.1 percent. Despite those two strong months, independent economists expect growth for 2017 as a whole will be more modest, at around 1.3 percent.
Russia is dragging itself out of a deep slump caused by weak oil prices and Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict. Natural resources, manufacturing and transport were the biggest contributors to GDP growth in June, with construction and retail sales also up. The ministry estimated that in the first half of this year GDP rose 1.7 percent year-on-year. The central bank reiterated on Friday its 2017 GDP forecast of 1.3-1.8 percent and said that GDP growth could rise above 2 percent a year if structural reforms took place.
