Russia could see 0.2%-0.3% inflation in Oct, just over 10% for year
MOSCOW. Oct 15 (Interfax) - The Russian Economic Development Ministry is forecasting 0.2%-0.3% inflation for October and just over 10% for the year, Andrei Klepach, a deputy economic development minister, told reporters.
"Inflation is still around zero for now, and could be 0.2%-0.3% for October as whole," Klepach said.
"If you take the current months, we could be looking at just under 11%, or perhaps just over 10% this year," he said.
Klepach also said the Econ Ministry was standing by its forecast for GDP to decline by 8.5% in 2009.
"As far as industry is concerned, I can't give a precise figure -we're adjusting this," Klepach said. Industry has been growing on a seasonally adjusted basis since May-June.
"It's still early to talk about robust growth, but growth is still marked. We're seeing growth, not decline on a seasonally adjusted basis. If [this growth was driven] mainly by export sectors like metals and chemicals in May-June, they have now been joined by machine building and the food industry," Klepach said.
Measures are needed in order to sustain this tendency, he said. "Although again, fairly serious changes in the financing of enterprises and in the restoration of domestic demand are needed for this growth to be sustainable," he said.