In Context: Sanctions Impact
Predictions of a rapid economic decline and a budget crisis have proven to be greatly exaggerated.
Predictions of a rapid economic decline and a budget crisis have proven to be greatly exaggerated.
The population of the three Caucasus states is 17.4 mln. Armenia and Georgia suffered from mass immigration in the 1990s and the legacy effect is a declining birth rate today.
Demographic Trends Boost Growth Expectations. Population growth is a contributor to economic expansion. The population of Central Asia is currently 121.4 mln and it is projected to grow to 161 mln within 15 years.
A government report, leaked to Bloomberg, shows a scenario where the economy suffers a steeper-for-longer decline. This is widely interpreted as meaning that the government is secretly assuming a much more difficult economic outlook and greater damage from sanctions than the generally more optimistic statements and current data shows.
Despite announcements of the success in import substitution, Russian technology products are still dependent on foreign supplies for key inputs. Two high profile projects – the Elbrus chip and the Baikal chip – are manufactured abroad. Domestic chip production is still about two generations behind the most advanced global technologies.
The constitution says that in all cases where the President is unable to carry out his duties, the Prime Minister becomes acting President, with limited powers, and an election must be held within three months.
After February 24th the global energy outlook changed. The Russian Energy Minister announced on April 20th that in September 2022 a new document will be released covering the Russian Energy Strategy to 2050.
The implementation of decarbonization policy over the next 20 years may shift the focus of Russia’s geological exploration industry from the search for oil deposits to the search for gas deposits, although the Energy Strategy (ES-2035) has yet to factor in an increased role for gas.
The Energy Strategy 2035 highlights the crucial challenge for the Russian oil sector: to increase oil production in Eastern Siberia, the Far East, and the Arctic zone to compensate for declining production in Western Siberia.
For over a year before the start of Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine the Russian currency had been very stable trading in a RUB70-77/US$ range. It was traded under RUB70/US$ on October 26th, a day before the reports of a Russian military buildup on the Ukraine border emerged. On the eve of the start of the special operation the ruble lost ground and moved into a RUB77-83/US$ band.
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Copyright © 2022 Macro-Advisory Ltd.
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2022 Macro-Advisory Ltd.
All Rights Reserved