INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia's economy has entered a recession as gross domestic output fell by 4% in the third quarter, according to first estimates published
less than the 4.5% contraction analysts had expected.The contraction was driven by a 22.6% plunge in wholesale trade and a 9.1% drop in
quarters of economic contraction, and Russia last experienced a technical recession in late 2020 and early 2021 during the coronavirus
8, the Central Bank predicted GDP would contract by 3.5% this year.The IMF and the World Bank are respectively estimating a fall in Russian
GDP of 3.4% and 4.5%.Despite a contracting economy, Russia's unemployment rate stood at 3.9% in September, according to Rosstat
It was the first time since the beginning of the military offensive in Ukraine that the key rate remained unchanged.The Central Bank is not
planning to change the rate until the end of the year, a sign of "adaptation" to a "new reality," said governor Elvira Nabiullina.After
Russia was hit by Western sanctions over the Ukraine offensive, the bank drastically raised the key rate from 9.5% to 20% in a bid to
counter inflation and prop up the ruble.
