In March 2004, the GDP grew 7.5 percent compared to March 2003. In February, the GDP growth was 8.7 percent, and in January – 7.9 percent.

In the first quarter of 2003, the GDP grew 7.5 percent compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.

Consumer inflation was 3.5 percent in the first quarter of 2004, against 5.2 percent in January-March 2003. In March 2004, inflation was 0.8 percent (1.1 percent in March 2003), and it was 2.8 percent in January-February 2004.

Lower consumer inflation is due to the fact that Russian people are switching from dollars to rubles, as well as to moderate prices for imported goods (thanks to the strengthening of the ruble), overall economic growth and rising demand for cash in the real sector of the economy.

Producer prices increased more significantly than consumption prices. They climbed 9.5 percent in January-March, against 3.1 percent in the same period last year. The largest price rises were reported in export-oriented industries, due to a favorable situation on export markets.

Real disposable incomes increased 13.9 percent, and real wages rose 15.8 percent in January-March 2004 compared to the corresponding period a year earlier, according to preliminary estimates.

The ruble strengthened against the US dollar by 5.2 percent in real terms in the first quarter of 2004, and it strengthened by 6 percent against the euro. The ruble’s real effective exchange rate against a basket of currencies of Russia’s main trade partners rose 4.7 percent.

Industrial production rose 7.5 percent in the first quarter of 2004 compared to the same period a year earlier.