Russian GDP growth in 2023 to top 3% - Putin

ST. PETERSBURG. Nov 17 (Interfax) - Russia's GDP growth will exceed 3% in 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

"Yesterday, the prime minister reported, we have 5.5% economic growth [this is the preliminary estimate of Russia's GDP growth in Q3]. For the year it will be over three [% growth]," he said.

"We have been carefully saying so all along: 2.5%, 2.7%, 2.8%. Now we can say confidently: it will be over 3% [Russian GDP growth in 2023]," the president said.

Growth in Russia's GDP accelerated to 5.5% in annual terms in Q3 2023 after an increase of 4.9% in Q2 and a decrease of 1.8% in Q1, according to the preliminary estimate for the third quarter, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) said on Wednesday. The Rosstat data exceeded the expectations of economists (a consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Interfax indicated growth of 5.2%), the calculations of the Economic Development Ministry (also a rise of 5.2%), and the estimates of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) (growth of 5.1%).

The Economic Development Ministry's official forecast from September envisages that Russia's GDP will grow 2.8% in 2023. Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov last week said that growth would exceed the estimate and be 3% in 2023.

The CBR at the end of October raised its forecast to 2.2%-2.7% from 1.5%-2.5% for growth in the indicator. The CBR expects a slowdown in annual growth rates to 1% in the fourth quarter.

The consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Interfax in early November suggests that the Russian economy will grow 2.7% in 2023.

The Economic Development Ministry expects Russia's GDP to grow 2.3% in 2024, the Central Bank only 0.5%-1.5%, and the consensus forecast of analysts, from the beginning of November, suggests growth of 1.3% in 2024.