General Economic Trends

    The macroeconomic situation in February 2004 was characterised by rapid growth in the production of goods and services, household real money income and fixed capital investment and the continued reduction of the inflation rate.

    A favorable foreign trade situation for Russia facilitated the development of export-oriented industries. The expansion of consumer and investment demand stimulated growth in industries oriented to the domestic market. The output index for the key branches of the economy registered 108.3% in January-February 2004 compared to January-February 2003.

    Consumer prices in March 2004 rose 3.5% compared to December 2003 against 5.2% in the same period last year.

    The ruble continued to rally on the domestic foreign exchange market in February. It gained 1.4% month on month in nominal terms and 1.9% in real terms. Compared to December 2003, the ruble rose 3.2% against the dollar in February 2004 in nominal terms and 5.0% in real terms.

    The real effective rate of the ruble against the currencies of Russia’s leading trading partners gained 1.8% in February month on month and 2.8% compared to December 2003.