Moody's Forecast Indicates that Russia’s GDP Will Decrease by 5.5% in 2015

Moody's published a report on its website in which it is said that Russia's GDP will contract by 5.5 percent in 2015.

MOSCOW, January 16 (Sputnik) — Moody's Investors Service forecasts that Russia's GDP will contract by 5.5 percent in 2015, which will weaken Armenia's economy due to the interdependence between the two counties' economies, Moody's said in report published on its website Thursday.

"Moody's expects that Russia's GDP will contract by 5.5% in 2015, weakening Armenia's economic activity given its historically strong correlation with Russia's growth cycle via remittances and trade channels, with Russia accounting for 23% of total Armenian exports," the report said.

Russia's Ministry of Economic Development said earlier it expected the decrease of Russia's GDP in the first quarter of 2015 by more than one percent.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said earlier on Wednesday Russia's budget deficit for 2015 is estimated at between two and three percent of the GDP.

In mid-December, Russian Central Bank estimated Russia's budget deficit for 2015 at 1.3 percent of the GDP as opposed to a deficit of 0.6 percent envisaged by a draft federal budget for 2015-2017.