Official government statistics released in Moscow on November 12 show that Russia’s economy shrank by 4.1 percent during the third quarter of 2015 as a recession caused by low oil prices and Western sanctions over Russia’s role in Ukraine’s civil war continued to take its toll.
The preliminary figures released by the state statistical agency, Rosstat, represent a slight improvement of government forecasts of a 4.3 percent fall compared to the third quarter of 2014.
But they show that Russia’s economy remains in deep trouble.
According to the government’s latest estimates, the economy will shrink by about 3.9 percent in 2015.
The World Bank in September predicted the Russian economy would shrink by 3.8 percent in 2015, a much steeper decline than its earlier forecast of a 2.7 percent fall.
The World Bank has said the downturn in 2015 could be as much as 4.3 percent if oil prices continue to fall and average about $50 per barrel for the year.
