Russian GDP growth slows to 1.6% in March, estimated at 3.7% in Q1 - Econ Ministry

MOSCOW. April 28 (Interfax) - Russian GDP growth in March 2022 slowed to 1.6% year-on-year from 4.3% in February and 5.8% in January, according to an overview of the current situation in the economy published by the Ministry of Economic Development on Wednesday.

The ministry estimated GDP growth for Q1 2022 at 3.7% year-over-year, following 5.0% growth in Q4 2021.

"Among the basic sectors of the economy, industrial production was the primary contributor to slowing GDP growth, with growth in March decreasing to 3.0% after 6.3% in February. While the annual growth rate of minerals extraction remained at high levels (7.8% in March), manufacturing industry output in March decreased by 0.3% due to the decrease in production in machine-building and oil refining. In the food industry, chemical complex and steel production, output growth decreased, but remained in positive territory," the Economic Development Ministry said in its report.

"At the same time, the construction and transportation industries saw an improvement in their annual trends. The volume of construction work rose 5.9% in March, following a 5.0% increase in February. Growth in transport cargo turnover accelerated to 3.5% in March after 1.1% in February, despite a significant decline in air cargo shipments amid restrictions imposed by foreign countries," the ministry said.

"Consumer demand growth slowed in March. The total turnover of retail trade, food services and paid services increased by 2.9% (in February there was a 7.2% increase in annual terms). According to preliminary data (Sberindex, control and cash register turnover), the rush in demand for a number of food and non-food products in early March, due to behavioral factors, was replaced by a cooling of consumer activity in the second half of the month, which continued in April," the ministry said in its overview.