Regional Economy report: business activity goes up while consumption growth slows in most Russian regions
In October–November, business activity increased, mostly fuelled by growth in industrial output reported by companies from individual sectors. In particular, enterprises from the Urals ramped up oil and gas production and companies from Siberia and the Far East increased coal output. Oil refining in the South returned to its previous levels.
However, consumption growth slowed in most Russian regions. In the Urals and the North-West, the number of shopping mall visitors dropped. Retailers from the Volga Region and the Far East reported a decline in demand for furniture, construction materials, and home improvement goods. Concurrently, car lending surged with car sales rising across almost the entire country in October in anticipation of an increase in the recycling fee.
The special topics of this issue include production capacity utilisation, household incomes, and housing construction.
More details are available in the new issue of the report Regional Economy: Commentaries by Bank of Russia Main Branches.