Current Russian GDP growth forecast for 2024 is 2.2%, Economic Development Ministry may increase it slightly - Belousov

MOSCOW. April 10 (Interfax) - The dynamics of the Russian economy in the first quarter are good, and the current forecast for GDP growth in 2024 is 2.2%, so the Economic Development Ministry is allowing for an increase in this estimate by several tenths of a percentage point, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov told reporters.

"Currently the forecast is 2.2% [the current working forecast for GDP growth in 2024]. The Economic Development Ministry says they may raise the forecast. But for now we are talking about tenths [shares of a percentage point increase in the forecast]," he said.

"In general, March is good. This can be seen from the dynamics of VAT, which is breaking records, mainly due to internal VAT. We need to wait for the results of the first quarter. However, so far, the PMI is quite high, I would say at a record high, and so is the value added tax. These indicators and fairly high consumer activity show that everything is going very well," Belousov said with regard to the condition of the economy in the first quarter.