World Bank: Consumption in Russia showed the highest growth in ten years showed the largest quarterly growth over the past decade, follows from the World Bank report, which is at the disposal of “Lenta.ru”. Consumption from April to June was nine percent higher than from January to March.
Experts from the World Bank associate the record in spending with the implementation of deferred demand (postponed indefinitely the intention to make a purchase) after the weakening of covid restrictions. When restrictive measures were in force in the country, residents earned less and went to stores less often, and in the second quarter, circumstances allowed them to dispose of funds more freely. the energy sector and the development of domestic tourism due to outbound restrictions. It is the growth in consumer demand that has led to the fact that the economic activity of Russians has already exceeded the previous maximum set in 2019, analysts say. In addition, strong domestic demand in Russia led to an increase in supplies from abroad, and the trade balance (the difference between the value of all exported and imported goods and services) also returned to pre-pandemic levels.
However, in the third quarter “ cooling ”demand and tighter lending by the central bank slowed consumption growth. At the same time, strong demand from April to June dispersed inflation. According to Rosstat, in October it accelerated to 8.13 percent in annual terms (maximum in five years). Among the factors behind the increase in inflation, experts also named the growing prices for raw materials and the reduction in supply.