MOSCOW, August 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's GDP declined by 9.3% in July 2009 year-on-year and 10.2% in the first seven months of the year, a deputy economics minister said on Monday.
However, Andrei Klepach said the economic slump has now ended, and that the economy is showing signs of revival.
According to Economics Ministry data, investment increased 0.3% in July from June, taking into account the seasonal factor, but fell by 18.9% year-on-year.
"Although the revival is not yet stable or intense, this is a major positive development, which means that the recession is now over, with slight growth emerging," the official said.
However, he said it would take Russia several years to overcome the consequences of the crisis, and bring production volumes back to pre-crisis levels.
Russia's trade surplus halved to $9 billion in July 2009 against last July's $8.7 billion, according to ministry data
The ministry has estimated that Russian exports in July stood at $25 billion against $24 billion in June, but fell by 47.2% against last July's $47.3 billion.
The ministry's forecast for inflation is 0.3%-0.4% in August. The statistics service Rosstat put inflation at 0.6% in July, and 8.3% since the start of the year.
