With the collapse of the ruble, Russia is headed for a recession – La Gaceta Tucumán

With the collapse of the ruble, Russia is headed for a recession – La Gaceta Tucumán

MOSCOW The Russian economy stagnated in November, making it more likely that the collapse of the ruble’s push into recession next year. The investment by Russian companies fell more than expected last month, underscoring the pressure from Western sanctions on Moscow for his role in the Ukrainian crisis.

Retail sales rose in line with expectations, but its annual rate of 1.8%, were just a fraction of what had been his rise in the post-2008 crisis period, when consumer demand fueled the economy. The dataset, which also noticed some increase in real wages, following industrial production figures, released Monday, which reflected that this activity was disappointing last month, down 0.4% against forecasts up 1.1%.

“Overall, the picture remains of a stagnant economy, rather than a collapse,” said Liza Ermolenko , emerging markets economist Capital Economics in London, said in a report.

“But the key point is that these data predate the recent collapse of the ruble. The full effect of recent events in the Russian economy will only start will be in activity data next year, but the point is that Russia is heading into a deep recession in 2015, “he said.

The ruble, which fell against the dollar by up to 20% at one point this week, has now lost about 45% so far this year. This poses a major challenge for President Vladimir Putin , whose popularity, based in part on providing stability and prosperity is threatened by the collapse of the ruble and the damage that occurs in the financial credibility.

The weak oil prices, combined with Western sanctions on Russia for its role in the crisis in Ukraine, have significantly limited access to international funds. The Russian central bank held, on Monday, probably the economy to contract in the first quarter of next year and perhaps could fall about 4.5% in 2015 if oil prices average around U $ S 60 per barrel .

Anyway, the president of the Federal Reserve of the United States, Janet Yellen , yesterday downplayed the potential impact of poor Russian juncture in the US economy but warned, moreover, it is more exposed Europe. (Reuters-DPA)