Falling Oil Prices a heavy hitter for Russia's Economy

November 26th, 2008
Russia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell for the first time in 10 years in October, the Kommersant newspaper reports, citing the Economic Development Ministry.

Combined with other news released this week, including higher inflation outlooks and growing job losses, the data suggested that the Russian economy was heading deeper into a full-on economic crisis.
The World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have also slashed their estimates for Russia’s 2009 GDP growth. The OECD, which cut their estimate from 6.5 to 2.3%, said that falling oil and resource prices were to blame, as well as receding capital markets. Oil has dropped to around $50 per barrel, down from an all-time high of $147 in July.