Russian Economy Growth Accelerates for First Time Since 2010

Russia’s economic growth accelerated in the third quarter for the first time since last year as companies stepped up investment and bank lending buoyed consumer spending.

Gross domestic product expanded 4.8 percent from a year earlier, the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010, after increasing 3.4 percent in the previous three months, the Federal Statistics Service said in an e-mailed statement today. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 14 economists was 5 percent. The Economy Ministry estimated it at 5.1 percent.