Filenews 21 June 2025
Russia's economy is on the brink of recession, Russian Economy Minister Maxim Resetnikov said today at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Russia cut interest rates this month for the first time since 2022, cutting borrowing costs to 20% from 21%. But for months businesses have been complaining about high interest rates stifling investment, and economic growth has begun to slow.
"According to the numbers, there is a warming, but all our data relate to previous time periods," Reshetnikov said.
"According to the prevailing sentiment in businesses today and according to business indicators, we are already, it seems to me, on the brink of recession. On the brink," he added.
At the same meeting, the head of Russia's central bank, Elvira Nabiulina, said the current slowdown in GDP growth is "a way out of global warming."
Alexander Vediahin, the first deputy chief executive of Russia's largest bank Sberbank, said in an interview with Reuters this week that tight monetary policy created risks of excessive deheating and added that much lower interest rates of 12% to 14% would be acceptable to resume investment lending.
According to Vediahin, "there is a risk that the economy will warm up too much and we will not be able to recover, and further growth may be low."
RES – EIA
