Russia's GDP growth will be within 1% in 2026, inflation 'under control' and gradually decreasing - Putin

MOSCOW. Sept 18 (Interfax) - Russia's GDP growth will be within 1% in 2026, in line with initial expectations, while annual inflation is gradually decreasing and is under control, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on the economy.

"I will point out that Russia's economic trend is generally in line with our expectations. It is estimated that GDP growth will be within 1% throughout the whole of this year - this is roughly the same forecast which was factored into the budget projections for this year," the president said.

"Russian companies and enterprises are working stably. This can also be seen in the situation on the labor market, with unemployment at a historical low of 2.3% [in July]. Wages are growing: by 6.5% in real terms in the first half. The stable situation on the labor market and the growth in household income are being reflected in consumer demand, too. Retail sales increased 5.4% in the first seven months of this year," Putin said.

"Inflation is generally under control. Since the second quarter of this year, it has been decreasing gradually. Inflation was at 6.2% as of September 14. This is noticeably below where it was a year ago. Plus, I will say once again that inflation was in the double figures, at 10.3%, in Q1 2025. Thus, the efforts being made by both the Central Bank and the Russian government in this area are clearly yielding results," he said.

As reported, Russia's GDP was estimated by the Russian Economy Development Ministry to have grown 0.6% in January-July 2026.

In May, the ministry lowered the GDP growth forecast for 2026 to 0.4%, from the 1.3% in its forecast from September 2025. At the Eastern Economic Forum at the start of September, Economy Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said that the ministry was now expecting Russia's GDP to grow 0.6% this year and would present a revised forecast in mid-September.

In July, the CBR lowered the forecast for Russia's economic growth in 2026 to 0%-1%, versus the 0.5%-1.5% which it predicted in April. The bank will present a revised forecast in October.

Analysts surveyed by Interfax at the start of September predicted that Russia's GDP would grow 0.5% in 2026.