Russia’s GDP Grew 4.9% in First Quarter, Exceeding Estimates

Russia’s economy grew last quarter at the fastest pace since the three months ended September 2011, suggesting the world’s biggest energy exporter is more resilient to Europe’s debt crisis than economists estimated.

Gross domestic product expanded 4.9 percent from the same period last year after rising 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter, the Federal Statistics Service in Moscow said in an e-mailed statement today. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 14 economists was 4.1 percent. The Economy Ministry projected growth at 4 percent.