WASHINGTON, April 19. /TASS/. The Russian economy has proved resilience to large-scale sanctions over the past two years, the European Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its regional economic outlook report.
"Over the past two years and amid large-scale sanctions imposed by a host of countries, the Russian economy has proven resilience," the document says.
According to the financial institution, the stability of the Russian economy is explained by several factors, in particular the fact that the volumes of Russian oil exports have remained very stable, despite the sanctions.
"This is because the oil that was used to go to Europe is now being absorbed elsewhere, notably China and India," the report says.
The IMF states that the restrictions led to the need to rebuild the economy.
" For instance, some imports are being substituted by domestic goods, resulting in investments in new production facilities," the document says
IMF economists also drew attention to the growth of private consumption in Russia, which ensured an increase in Russian GDP growth by 2.9 percentage points.
Third, private consumption has recovered strongly, adding 2.9 percentage points to GDP growth.
"This is being driven by buoyant credit and a strong labor market, with record low unemployment of just 3% and rising wages," the document says.
According to the IMF estimates, last year the growth rate of the Russian economy was 3.6%. Earlier, the IMF revised its outlook for Russian GDP growth in 2024 upwards, raising it to 3.2%. The forecast for Russian GDP for 2025 was also raised to 1.8%.