Russia falls into recession

Country:  Russia

12 December 2008

Russia has officially entered into recession, which is expected to last well into 2009, according to the country’s Deputy Minister of Economic Development Andrei Klepach.

The economic conditions in Russia are now thought to be worse than initially feared, with real GDP growth projected to fall from 8% during the first half of this year to just 5% year-on-year in Q4 2008.

The possible contraction of the Russian economy next year is likely to reduce demand for property and any chance of short-term price inflation. The news could also prove negative for overseas property markets that are currently largely reliant on Russian property investors, such as Bulgaria and Cyprus, to name a select fe