Russian Economy Emerging From Recession Despite Western Sanctions, British Newspaper Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian economy is emerging from recession despite sanctions imposed by the West as data show, while Europe is now on the verge of a grave economic slump, The Economist newspaper reported on Thursday.

The newspaper provided different economic indicators in Russia including forecasts of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) for 2023, trade activity, level of production in different industries. The data show that the situation in the Russian economy is now improving after months of the downturn, according to The Economist.

A "current-activity indicator” elaborated by Goldman Sachs demonstrates the economic activity of countries on a monthly basis, and this index indicates that the Russian economy has been doing better than those of some leading EU countries for several months already.

Another data provided by The Economist revealed that car output in Russia had bounced back after being hit by the Western sanctions in February-March meaning that the industry managed to switch to alternative suppliers outside the West. At the same time, the monthly imports of goods to Russia had now already exceeded last year's average, the newspaper added.

Earlier in the week, the International Monetary Fund also revised its forecast for the contraction of Russia's GDP in 2022 from 8.4% in April to 3.4% in October.

The Economist, however, pointed out that Western sanctions imposed against Russia in response to its military operation in Ukraine, as well as partial mobilization declared in Russia in late September that resulted in thousands of men fleeing the country "have wounded Russia’s long-term economic prospects." Despite these issues, the newspaper noted, the recession in Russia is coming to an end.

Western countries have increased sanctions pressure on Russia since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. Disruption in supply chains has led to higher fuel and food prices across the EU, driving inflation to record levels and causing cost of living to soar.