Economics
2019 Brings Yet More Bad News for Russian Consumers
- Incomes shrank in January, retail sales growth slowed
- Central bank has warned about risks from consumer borrowing
Shoppers walk through the Vegas mall in Moscow.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
After five years of falling or stagnant incomes, Russian consumers are facing yet more bad news in 2019.
First came the Jan. 1 increase in the value-added tax by two percentage points. A few weeks later, the central bank signaled it could limit one of the key sources battered shoppers have been relying on to keep up their spending: a boom in consumer lending.