Zee Beam News

MOSCOW, March 30 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) may decline by 4.5% this year, the World Bank said in a revised report published on Monday. "With a much worse global financial outlook and oil prices in the $45 a barrel range, Russia's economy is likely to contract by 4.5% in 2009, with further downside risks," the World Bank said in its Russian Economic Report. The Bank's previous estimate, released in November last year, predicted 3% growth in Russia in 2009. Russia's GDP grew 5.6%, year-on-year, in 2008, the country's top statistics body said in February. Most of the global economic crisis's adverse effect on Russia is expected to be concentrated in the first two quarters of 2009, the World Bank said in its report. "As the crisis continues to spread to the real economy around the world, initial expectations that Russia and other countries will recover fast are no longer likely," the report said. According to the report, the current crisis in Russia is likely to be deeper in terms of growth deceleration and longer than the 1998 turmoil. However, "Russia's sound management of public finances and large fiscal and reserve buffers provide important cushion," the report said.