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In March, Russia’s industrial growth was 0 percent compared with February, while the GDP continued to grow, Russian Economy Minister German Gref said at a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with the government on Monday. According to Mr. Gref, the GDP growth continues despite a slowdown in the light industry, the ferrous metal industry, mechanical engineering and forestry.
In particular, the country’s GDP grew 8 percent in the first quarter of 2004 compared with the same period last year. At the same time, according to the press service of the Russian Economy Ministry, the GDP has grown 0.7 percent since the start of the year.
In January 2004, Russia’s GDP was up 7.9 percent compared to January 2003, and in February 2004, the GDP grew 8.7 percent. In January-February 2004, the GDP growth was 8.3 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. The GDP was up 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2003.
According to the latest data from the Statistics Service, the GDP grew 7.3 percent in 2003. A growth of 6.4 percent is expected in 2004. Manufacturing growth was 7.6 percent in the first quarter of 2004 compared with January-March 2003.
According to Mr. Gref, investments in the Russian economy slowed down in January-February but they increased 0.5 percent in March. Overall, investments dropped 1.9 percent in the first quarter of 2004.
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RUSSIA IN FACTS
