Russia's industrial output fell 0.4% in November after two months of relatively strong growth, expanding 2.9% and 2.8% in October and September. Core drivers were:
- Manufacturing sector contracted at 3% in November, having expanded 3.6% in October. The latest change, if confirmed over the next few months, might signal wearing off of the imports substitution effects from Russian counter-sanctions.
- Natural resources exploration sector expanded output by 2.5% in November
- Production of heat and electricity rose 7% in November
- Pipeline production grew by 30% in October, gas turbines manufacturing rose 91%. The $400 billion gas contract with China, signed in May was the reason, as Russia started construction of the 4,000 km Power of Siberia pipeline in September.
Note: November Manufacturing PMIs were up http://trueeconomics.blogspot.ie/2014/12/1122014-russia-manufacturing-pmi.html signalling that things might improve in December data.
On a no-surprise side, fixed capital investment was down in the first nine months of 2014 and in Q3 2014 - declining by around 2% or well below expectations. SMEs investments declined, while investment by larger companies rose. Oil refining investments remain the largest contributor to manufacturing sector investments, per BOFIT. Food sector investments also were robust. Q3 also saw reversal of negative growth in total investments in machinery & equipment by large and medium-sized firms.
BOFIT: "Growth in investments of large firms reflects the government’s goal, reinforced at the start of this year, of getting large state-owned enterprises to increase investments
despite the hard times. The economy ministry indicated in November that investments of so-called natural monopolies, which represent some of the biggest state-owned enterprises, will grow even more notably next year."
Another handy chart via BOFIT:
