The higher rating of the country’s economy comes as Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin announces strict budget policies for the years ahead. In a conference last week, the minister stressed that he will do what he can to stagger spending, Kommersant reports.
In 2009, the federal budget got a record-high deficit of 2.4 trillion RUB (5,9% of GDP). Likewise, the country’s 2010 budget includes a high deficit of 6,8 percent. The deficit will then be reduced to four percent in 2011 and three percent in 2010, Vedomosti writes.
The high deficits are still lower than previously expected by most analysts. This is also one of the reasons why the rating companies now positively assess Russia.
As reported by Kommersant, the Fitch company on last Friday upgraded the assessment of the Russian economy from “negative” to “stable”. Now, also the PricewaterhouseCoopers positively describes the Russian developments. According to Newsru.com, the company believes the Russian economy eventually by 2030 will be the most powerful in Europe, and the fifth most powerful in the world.
Also the IMF now sees positive Russian developments. As reported by BarentsObserver, the fund now expects a stronger Russian ruble as attention from returning investors is increasing.
