Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Russia’s economy may expand as much as 4 percent in the fourth quarter after the country emerged from recession in the previous quarter, Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach said at a conference in Moscow today.

The economy may show “quite strong growth” of between 3 percent and 4 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, Klepach said. Gross domestic product expanded 0.6 percent in the third quarter, the Economy Ministry said yesterday, citing preliminary data.

Russia’s economy may expand more than 2 percent in 2010, Klepach said. The government forecasts 1.6 percent growth next year.

Russia’s commodity-reliant economy, which slumped after the credit crisis hurt raw material prices, is showing signs of recovery as global demand rebounds, led by trade giant China. That’s adding to the impact of fiscal and monetary easing. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last week visited China to secure energy contracts and this year’s oil deals with China are worth $100 billion.

If the price of oil, a key Russian export, remains at current levels in 2011 and 2012, this could add 0.5 to 0.8 percentage point in annual GDP growth, Klepach said.

Foreign direct investment in Russia will fall at least 10 percent this year from last year, Arkady Dvorkovich, top economic adviser to President Dmitry Medvedev, said at a conference in Moscow today. Investment will increase next year, he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Nicholson in Moscow at anicholson6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 21, 2009 04:20 EDT