(MENAFN) Russia's Economy Minister forecasted that gross domestic product (GDP) will fall by roughly 3 percent this year on the back of a falling oil prices and a massive capital flight, Arab News reported.
The minister had previously predicted a 0.8 percent drop in output, but some economists said that the contraction could be as big as 5 percent, depending on the price of Russia's main export commodity.
The country's central bank had forecast a 4.8 percent contraction, as it has been hit by a double turmoil of tumbling oil prices and Western sanctions that closed off the economy from foreign borrowing.
"We have issued a forecast for 2015 which uses the current prices, that is USD50 a barrel for the entire year," the economy minister was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.
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