The economies of Russia and the other 11 members of the Commonwealth of Independent States are contracting sharply but continue to recover from the 1998 Russian crisis

The economies of Russia and the other 11 members of the Commonwealth of Independent States are contracting sharply but continue to recover from the 1998 Russian crisis, the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook report published Wednesday. In Russia, the region’s biggest economy, gross domestic productgrowth this year is expected to halve to 4.0 percent, from 8.3 percent in 2000, and to hold steady at 4.0 percent in 2002. The combined economic growth of the 12-state CIS is projected to shrink to 4.4 percent this year from 7.9 percent in 2000, and to contract further to 4.0 percent in 2002. But the CIS countries, which had lagged in introducing structural reforms when growth was strongest, had to press ahead with change, the report insisted. The IMF explained that most of the 2001 regional slowdown was due to a partial reversal of the factors that had boosted growth earlier, including lower energy prices, real exchange rate appreciation and weaker-than-expected activity in Western Europe. Russia, despite some weakening in oil prices from their late 2000 peaks and continued high capital outflows, was expected to maintain a strong surplus in its current account and overall balance of payments, the IMF said.