Economic stimulation should involve budget regulation fulfillment, low inflation - Medvedev
MOSCOW. Dec 26 (Interfax) - Measures to stimulate economic growth have to involve retaining the fulfillment of budget regulation and relatively low levels of inflationary rates, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday at a meeting dedicated to economic-growth measures.
"You and I talked about infrastructural limitations, talked about adjustments to aspects of monetary-lending policy, if that is needed, and also about several other stimulants to economic growth that are able to provide us with the indicators we need," the prime minister said.
"We need to find that optimum that will maintain relatively low inflation rates, which for us is extremely important in the short term and in the future, will maintain for us the fulfillment of budget regulation we have adopted for ourselves, and provide an opportunity to conduct effective monetary-lending policy," Medvedev said. "Russia, with its well-known limitations, is susceptible thereby to risks. Unfortunately, a slowdown in the growth of the main macroeconomic indicators is observed," he said.
Annual GDP growth in November had slowed to 1.9% from 4.9% in the first quarter, while industrial expansion likewise slowed - to 1.9% in November from 2.5% in the third quarter.
A smaller harvest, which lowered GDP growth in the third quarter by 0.3 of a percentage point, is one reason for the economic growth slowdown, the prime minister said. Furthermore, he said, demand for energy resources was down, "although at the present moment the consumption of energy resources is growing due to a severe winter in Europe."
Because of how things have developed, the forecast for 2012 had to be adjusted, with the projection for industrial growth being lowered from 3.6% to 3.2% (to 2.8% as per Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) methodology), and the forecast for consumer demand growth was adjusted from 6.1% to 5.7%, Medvedev said.
Also, he said, "An adjustment of the dynamics of GDP growth in 2013 is underway."