IMF Urges Russia to Implement More Structural Reforms Reducing Oil Dependence

© REUTERS / Sergei Karpukhin/File PhotoA worker checks the valve of an oil pipe at an oil field owned by Russian state-owned oil producer Bashneft near the village of Nikolo-Berezovka, northwest of Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia January 28, 2015.
A worker checks the valve of an oil pipe at an oil field owned by Russian state-owned oil producer Bashneft near the village of Nikolo-Berezovka, northwest of Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia January 28, 2015. - Sputnik International
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Russia needs to launch further structural reforms to diversify the country's economy and reduce dependence on commodity exports, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia has undertaken a number of efforts to mitigate the outfall of its recent two-year recession, Western sanctions and the slump in oil prices. This included budget cuts, a tight monetary policy, purging the country's banking system of weaker players and initiating an import substitution program.

"These policies need to be supplemented with structural reforms that lift potential output and accelerate convergence towards per capita income levels of advanced economies. So far, the more competitive exchange rate has not ignited a robust response from non-traditional sectors of the economy and a new growth model that is less dependent on commodities has yet to emerge," the 2017 IMF Article IV mission to Russia said in a statement following its visit to Moscow.

The seal of the International Monetary Fund is seen at the headquarters building in Washington, DC on July 5, 2015 - Sputnik International
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The IMF pointed out that Russia had already privatized some state-owned companies and "purged weak banks from the financial system," though it was necessary to increase investment and productivity.

Russian authorities should also expand the number of preferential trade agreements signed with other states and consider implementing a pension reform which would include increasing the statutory retirement age.

Russia is emerging from a two-year recession that began amid collapsing commodity prices, including oil, as well as Western sanctions. In 2016, Russia's economy is estimated to have contracted by 0.5 percent after contracting almost 4 percent the previous year. The first three quarters saw negative growth rates before a slight GDP increase in the fourth quarter. The Economic Development Ministry's 2017 target scenario forecast is a GDP increase of 2 percent.

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