Russia economy in first contraction since 2009

Moscow

RUSSIA's economy had its first decline since October 2009 last month as manufacturing and investment shrank amid the rouble's worst rout in a decade.

Gross domestic product shrank 0.5 per cent in November from a year earlier after a 0.5 per cent increase in October, the Economy Ministry in Moscow said in a report on its website. Seasonally adjusted GDP fell 0.2 per cent in the month after a 0.1 per cent advance in October.

The economy of the world's biggest energy exporter is facing its first recession since 2009 next year as oil, trading near a five-year low, and sanctions imposed over Ukraine pushed Russia into its biggest currency crisis since 1998. With oil prices at US$60 a barrel, the economy may contract abou…