World Bank "Russia's Growth Rate Expected to be -6% This Year Due to COVID-19"

Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The World Bank has forecast that Russia's economy will contract by over 6% this year due to the impact of the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to TASS news agency on the 6th (local time), the World Bank recently stated in a report that Russia's economic growth rate is expected to record -6% this year and then slowly recover in 2021-2022.

It analyzed that the 53% drop in international oil prices from early this year to May will have a negative impact on Russia's economy, which is a major oil-exporting country.

The World Bank predicted that Russia's total household consumption will decrease by 4.9% and total fixed capital investment will decline by 8% by the end of this year.

However, if COVID-19 does not cause a second wave, Russia's economy is expected to gradually recover starting next year, with a growth rate of 2.7% in 2021 and 3.1% in 2022.

The outlook within Russia is also not favorable. The Bank of Russia forecasted in mid-last month that this year's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate will be between -4% and -6%.