Russia's economy grew faster than expected, ending four straight quarters of contraction, raising hopes of a return to pre-war economic levels as early as next year as the country adjusts to the fallout from international sanctions.
Russia's economy is on its longest losing streak in more than five years since the conflict with Ukraine. But gross domestic product rose 4.9% in the second quarter as fiscal policy became looser to support the war. The preliminary assessment released by Rosstat last Friday topped the expectations of most analysts polled by Bloomberg (except two), which had expected a 3.9% increase.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy has grown and the growth has been more pronounced between April and June.