Dramatic drop in Russian economic growth
Russian Minister of Finance Aleksey Kudrin says economic growth in the country this year will shrink to below two percent.
While the Russian growth rate in 2007 amounted to 8,1 percent, the country will this year see a close to zero-growth. Speaking in the Asian Economic Forum in Hong Kong today, Minister Kudrin said the 2009 growth will be a maximum of two percent, Vedomosti reports with reference to Finmarket.ru. In 2008, the Russian economy grew six percent. Mr. Kudrin said that the figures are based on an evaluation of the world economy and the forecasts for Russia exports. He did not exclude that the Russian government would allocate another 40 billion USD for the banking system, the sector considered the most vulnerable part of the economy. The minister believes the average oil price this year will be below 40 USD.
