Russian Industrial Output Falls 20%
February 17th, 2009Via: Financial Times:
Russia’s industrial production plunged 20 per cent in January, a fall that could herald a much larger than expected drop in gross domestic product this year, economists fear.
The decline was its largest month to month drop since records began seven years ago.
“The horrendous industrial production data in January have left no doubt that the economy has come to a screeching halt,” said Ivan Tchakarov, chief Russia economist for Nomura, the investment bank. “This indicates that the combined effect of the credit squeeze in the banking sector and falling global and domestic demand has filtered through to the real economy.”
Russia’s president Dmitry Medvedev underlined the Kremlin’s concern with the worsening situation when he sacked four regional governors yesterday, the first time so many senior officials have been purged in years.
The governors fired had headed regions where a recent spike in unemployment had taken the worst toll. In December, Russia’s economy shed roughly half a million jobs, bringing the total unemployment level to 7.7 per cent.
