Russian economy continues subdued quarterly growth in Q2-3 - Central Bank's Zabotkin
MOSCOW. Oct 3 (Interfax) - The Russian economy continued its quarterly growth at a subdued pace in the second and third quarters, Central Bank Deputy Governor Alexei Zabotkin said.
He said leading indicators such as the PMI were weaker in September than in previous months, but conclusions should not be drawn from such volatile indicators based on data for just one month.
"We evaluate the situation in both the second and third quarters as continued growth at a subdued pace quarter-on-quarter [seasonally adjusted]. This is taking place very unevenly across the economy. There are sectors that have seen a significant drop in demand and manufacturing activity, and a transition to underemployment. But there are sectors that will again show significant growth in both output and employment in the third quarter compared to the second quarter," Zabotkin said in an interview with RBC Radio.
"If you look at the PMI indices for components related to hiring, they are all in positive territory, above 50%, meaning they show that current activity has declined, but companies continue to take on staff. This means they see demand levels as fairly stable over the medium term," Zabotkin said.
"If we talk specifically about the September [PMI] figures, then I agree, they are weaker than in previous months of this year. But I would again caution everyone against reacting to figures for a single month. A three-month rolling or quarterly timeframe would be more meaningful, especially for indicators that are highly volatile from month to month, such as PMI indices," he said.
The Russia Services PMI decreased from 50 points in August to 47 points in September 2025, S&P Global research data show. The PMI index of Russia's manufacturing industries was at 48.2 points in September 2025, down from 48.7 points in August.
The Russia Composite Output Index, which tracks activity in both the services and manufacturing sectors, fell from 49.1 points in August to 46.6 points in September.
