The marked turnaround in Russia's foreign trade in 2023 exerted strong downward pressure on the Russian rouble, which lost around 30% of its value. Global oil prices were declining in the first half of the year, the EU import embargo on Russian oil depressed prices even further; and on top of...

Recent high-frequency data suggest a further strengthening of growth momentum, driven by the ongoing tightness of the labour market and the muted response of credit expansion to last year’s monetary policy tightening. At the same time, the short- and medium-term fiscal outlook has brightened...