Russian industrial production dropped sharply again in December – by the most since at least 2003. Output was down 10.3 percent following an 8.7 percent fall in November, according to data from the Federal Statistics Service announced yesterday (Thursday) by central Bank Chairman Sergey Ignatiev. Output growth for the year was 2.1 percent, the slowest since at least 1999. br /br /a href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ngczZkrw340/SXnHod1_lII/AAAAAAAAMVY/OmOY6oKT5Zk/s1600-h/russia+manufacturing.png”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 237px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ngczZkrw340/SXnHod1_lII/AAAAAAAAMVY/OmOY6oKT5Zk/s400/russia+manufacturing.png” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294482334970516610″ //abr /br /Manufacturing fell an annual 13.2 percent in December, compared with a decline of 10.3 percent in November, as steel-pipe production dropped an annual 35.3 percent and coking coal output plunged 44.2 percent. Truck production plummeted 67.1 percent. br /br /This data is not surprising, and only confirms what we have been seeing in the VTB PMI. The next interesting data appointment will be on 2 February, when we should get to see what …

Russian industrial production dropped sharply again in December – by the most since at least 2003. Output was down 10.3 percent following an 8.7 percent fall in November, according to data from the Federal Statistics Service announced yesterday (Thursday) by central Bank Chairman Sergey Ignatiev. Output growth for the year was 2.1 percent, the slowest since at least 1999. br /br /a href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ngczZkrw340/SXnHod1_lII/AAAAAAAAMVY/OmOY6oKT5Zk/s1600-h/russia+manufacturing.png”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 237px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ngczZkrw340/SXnHod1_lII/AAAAAAAAMVY/OmOY6oKT5Zk/s400/russia+manufacturing.png” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294482334970516610″ //abr /br /Manufacturing fell an annual 13.2 percent in December, compared with a decline of 10.3 percent in November, as steel-pipe production dropped an annual 35.3 percent and coking coal output plunged 44.2 percent. Truck production plummeted 67.1 percent. br /br /This data is not surprising, and only confirms what we have been seeing in the VTB PMI. The next interesting data appointment will be on 2 February, when we should get to see what …

The Russian ruble fell yesterday (Monday) to levels not seen since the 1998 banking crisis, as the nation’s central bank devalued the currency for the sixth time in seven days. The devaluation is seen as a sign of further deterioration in the Russian economy and comes despite government efforts to orchestrate an orderly retreat.

A drop in the price of oil, the war in Georgia, and a gas-export dispute with the Ukraine have put a huge dent in the Russian economy, which now teeters on the verge of recession.  The devaluations reflect the new reality of low prices and falling demand for oil and other exportable commodities.

In order to contain the damage, the central bank is accelerating the ruble’s slide. Policymakers devalued the ruble every trading day last week except for Tuesday (Jan. 13), letting it fall an average 1.7% a day versus a basket of currencies. By comparison, November and