Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Tentative recovery in sight as Russia's real wages, unemployment improve

Published 03/19/2021, 12:26 PM
Updated 03/19/2021, 12:31 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Vehicles covered with snow and hoarfrost are parked near a local oil refinery in Omsk

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Vehicles covered with snow and hoarfrost are parked near a local oil refinery in Omsk

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's real wages edged up in January, data showed on Friday, after strong growth the previous month, slightly outperforming analyst expectations as Russia's economy showed tentative signs of recovery.

Russia's commodity-dependent economy is on track to grow this year after shrinking 3.1% in 2020 -- its sharpest contraction in 11 years but still smaller than expected.

The central bank expects the economy to return to pre-crisis levels before the end of the year, the governor of the central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, said on Friday after a surprise 25-basis-point rate increase, brought about by rising inflation and geopolitical risks.

The Federal Statistics Service, or Rosstat, said Russia's real wages, which are adjusted for inflation and reported one month later than other key indicators, rose 0.1% year-on-year in January. Analysts on average had forecast they would remain flat.

Economic growth and a recovery in living standards in Russia are a crucial issue for President Vladimir Putin and the United Russian ruling party. The latter is bracing for parliamentary elections in September amid massive protests that rocked Russian streets earlier this year.

Russia's jobless rate slipped to 5.7% in February from 5.8% in January, in line with the forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Vehicles covered with snow and hoarfrost are parked near a local oil refinery in Omsk

Retail sales, a barometer of consumer demand that is Russia's main driver of economic growth, underperformed, slipping 1.3% year-on-year in February versus expectations for a 1.1% drop predicted by a Reuters poll.

Latest comments

President Putin: Time to build a SUSTAINABLE COUNTRY. Tic-toc.
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.