Sberbank cuts Russia's 2026 GDP growth forecast after tough first quarter

April 29, 2026 6:33 AM EDT

MOSCOW, April 29 (Reuters) - ‌Sberbank cut ​its ​gross domestic product growth forecast for Russia to 0.5% to 1% from ‌between 1% and 1.5% on Wednesday after ⁠a poor first-quarter economic performance.

Russia's largest bank updated ‌its forecasts ahead of ‌the release of a preliminary first-quarter GDP estimate by the Economy Ministry on Wednesday ​and preliminary first-quarter data release by the statistics agency on May 15.

The Russian economy ⁠contracted by 1.8% in January and in February due to ​high interest rates, tax hikes, a strong rouble and weak prices for Russian ​oil before the Iran ‌war began.

"The situation in the first quarter of the Russian economy ⁠was challenging against the backdrop of tight monetary conditions," said Sberbank's Deputy CEO Taras Skvortsov.

Russia's mining ⁠and manufacturing sectors were hit hardest, while there was ​also a significant slowdown in consumer spending, affecting retail trade, Skvortsov said, adding that the construction sector had ‌stagnated in the first quarter.

Sberbank forecasts inflation in 2026 at between ‌6% and 6.5%, above the central bank's ⁠prediction of between 4.5% ‌and 5.5%.

(Reporting by ​Elena Fabrichnaya; Writing by Anna Peverieri and Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Alexander ‌Smith)



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