“Russian economic growth has been below the global average in the past few years, hampered by a weak and volatile currency, a drop in oil prices, and by sanctions first imposed by the European Union and the United States in 2014 after Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Russia’s seizure of three Ukrainian navy vessels in November prompted calls for more sanctions on Moscow. The EU decided against further measures but extended its existing ones targeting Russia’s defense, energy and banking sectors, until mid-2019. Several times in 2018, Washington has raised the possibility of more sanctions for what has called Moscow’s ‘malign activities’, with new penalties possibly targeting holdings of Russian state debt. ‘The main risks are related to sanctions,’ said Oleg Kouzmin, chief economist at Renaissance Capital. After expanding by 1.7 percent in 2018, Russia’s gross domestic product is seen growing by 1.4 percent in 2019, the consensus forecast of 17 analysts and economists showed.”
Source: Russia faces higher inflation, economic slowdown in 2019: Reuters poll | Reuters
