IMF lowers Russia growth forecast for 2026-2027 by 0.2 pp to 0.9% per year

MOSCOW. Oct 13 (Interfax) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its July forecast for Russian economic growth in 2026 and 2027 by 0.2 percentage points and now expects annual growth of 0.9% in the two years, the October World Economic Outlook, published on Tuesday, said.

The IMF earlier raised its forecast for Russian GDP growth in 2026 to 1.1% from 0.8% after lowering it by 0.2 pp in January. The forecast was not changed in July.

The IMF's forecast for this year is still higher than the Russian Economic Development Ministry's forecast, which was raised to 0.6% from 0.4% in September, but it falls within the Central Bank's forecast range of 0-1% growth.

The IMF's forecast for 2027 is lower than the forecasts of both the ministry and Central Bank, which expect growth of 1.4% and 1.5-2.5%, respectively.

The IMF also lowered its growth forecast for countries with emerging markets and developing countries in 2026 and 2027 by 0.1 pp to 3.7% and 4.4%, respectively. The growth forecast for developed countries, meanwhile, was raised by 0.4 pp to 2.1% for 2026 and left unchanged at 1.8% for 2027.