FX.co ★ IMF upgrades Russia’s 2024 growth forecast

The International Monetary Fund has upgraded its outlook on Russia's economic growth for 2024. The country's GDP is expected to rise by 2.6% this year.

According to IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the Russian economy is currently expanding at a more rapid pace than previously expected. The IMF’s prediction paints a rosy picture of the country’s immediate economic outlook, which is further evidence of its ability to withstand the effects of numerous Western sanctions.

Thus, the agency has revised upwards its October forecast for GDP growth in Russia by 1.5 percentage points. Now growth in the country is projected at 2.6% in 2024.

Earlier, Russia's economy ministry noted that based on consumer purchasing power, the economy could overtake Japan in the World Bank’s ranking of top economies within three to four years. According to analysts, the difference in performance between Russia and other countries in this respect is insignificant. If growth rates remain unchanged, Russia will end up outranking the Japanese economy in the medium term.

In early January 2024, it became known that Russia was one of the three G20 countries with positive real wage growth in 2023. The International Labor Organization's annual report on labor trends showed that Russia entered the top three of the ranking, along with Mexico and China.