Russian Consumer Rot Worsens as Wages Decline More Than Forecast
- Wages, sales extend decline on ruble rout, inflation upswing
- First recession in 6 years to persist amid slump in oil prices
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A slump in Russian consumption showed no letup last month while a drop in investment stretched into the longest in two decades, highlighting the toll on the economy from lower oil prices and the latest wave of ruble depreciation.
Real wages declined 9.8 percent from a year earlier after a 9.2 percent drop in July, the Federal Statistics Service in Moscow said Thursday. Retail sales tumbled 9.1 percent on an annual basis, matching a revised 9.1 percent plunge a month earlier. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast decreases of 9 percent and 8.9 percent. Fixed-capital investment shrank 6.8 percent, dropping for a 20th month. That’s the longest stretch of declines since at least 1995, when Bloomberg started compiling the data.