VTB Europe GDP Indicator: Russia's economy weakens further in March

MOSCOW, April 5 (Prime-Tass) -- Russian economic growth continued to weaken for the fifth consecutive month in March, London-based VTB Bank Europe said in its latest GDP Indicator report, released Thursday.

"The Russian GDP Indicator showed a further softening in the rate of GDP growth in March, although it remained at a robust 6.8%," said Chris Green, senior economist at VTB Bank Europe Research. "In particular, the indicator eased for the fifth consecutive month from last October’s two-and-a-half-year high of 7.8%," he said. "The overall slowdown in Russian economic growth in March reflected a weaker services sector performance, although this was slightly offset by an improvement in manufacturing activity. While manufacturing output continued to increase at a weaker rate than services activity, the rate of expansion has accelerated since February," he said.

The All Industry Index eased further in March, to 56.9, from 57.5 the previous month, VTB Bank Europe said, adding that it signaled the weakest growth of private sector output in Russia in just over a year, but still showed a sharp rate of expansion.

The All Industry Index is a composite index designed to provide a snapshot of the health of the economy. A reading above 50.0 signals expansion in the sector compared with the previous month, while a reading below 50.0 signals a contraction.

The GDP Indicator is derived from VTB Bank Europe's Purchasing Managers Indices (PMI), which are surveys of business conditions in the manufacturing and service sectors of Russia. By weighing together the output measures from these surveys, an indicator of total output is produced.