World Bank expects Russian GDP to fall 2.9% in 2015, edge up in 2016
MOSCOW. Jan 14 (Interfax) - The World Bank expects Russian GDP to contract by 2.9% in 2015, but edge up by 0.1% in 2016, the bank said in its January Global Economic Prospects report.
The World Bank estimates that the Russian economy grew by 0.7% in 2014.
The bank is forecasting that Russian economic growth will accelerate to 1.1% in 2017.
The World Bank at the beginning of December drafted three scenarios for the Russian economy's development, depending on oil prices. The baseline scenario, where oil trades at $78 in 2015 and $80 in 2016, projected GDP to grow 0.7% in 2015 and 0.3% in 2016. The worst-case scenario ($70 and $72 a barrel) saw 1.5% decline in 2015 and 0.3% growth in 2016. In the best-case scenario ($85 and $90), the economy would flatline in 2015 and grow 0.5% in 2016. The latest forecast is a significant downgrade on the worst-case scenario.