Russia will face the economic recession during 2015

Russia will enter into recession in 2015, weighed down by the economic sanctions imposed by Western countries and the fall of oil prices that stimulate inflation and contributed to the collapse of the ruble, according to the latest official estimates.

One day after the fall of the ruble against the dollar and the euro, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development released its forecasts for 2015, stating that all indicators have been revised downwards.

Its fall was accelerated by the decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) of maintaining its level of oil production, despite the abundant offer in the market.

Besides the impact of sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States against Moscow, which affect the financial heart of Russia, these “will be maintained during 2015,” dragging down the growth, said Deputy Economy Minister Alexei Vedev.

The economy will contract by 0.8%, far from the previous forecast, which predicted a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 1.2.

For this year, the Ministry shuffles growth of 0.6% versus 0.5% previously expected despite the fact that it is expected to be “zero or even negative” in the last quarter, according to Vedev.