MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Fitch Ratings affirmed earlier on Friday Russia's Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BBB-' with a Stable Outlook.
"The decision by Fitch reflects the agency's confidence in Russia's financial stability and the ability of Russian authorities to adapt successfully the country's economy to the sharp fall in oil prices," Siluanov told reporters.
18 February 2017, 13:34 GMT
Russia has been hit by a downturn that began in early 2015 after falling oil prices and Western anti-Russia sanctions took bite. The country's GDP fell 3.7 percent in 2015, according to the Russian Federal Statistics Service Rosstat.
The Russian Economic Development Ministry's 2017 baseline scenario forecast is a GDP increase of 0.6 percent. Growth is expected to further recover in the subsequent years, growing 1.7 percent in 2018 and 2.1 percent in 2019.
