IMF forecasts Russia might see a 7.5% fall in GDP figures for 2009 and a slow recovery of 1.5% for 2010. This is line with predictions of the Russian government that expect 2% GDP growth next year. Specialists both in Russia and abroad say the Russian economy is slowly getting out of the recession. According to Russia's Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin, budget deficit which in 2009 reached 8.5% of GDP, will be lowering due to stabilization and will get back to 3% by 2012. For 2010, if the oil price stays at the same level of 70$ per barrel till the end of the year, the budget deficit will be around 7.5%, and 4% in 2011.
The Finance Ministry also predicts that inflation by the end of the year will reach 1%, and commodity prices will increase by 0.2%. In October, the Central Bank acquired more than $15 billion, Russia's foreign reserves rose to $432.8 billion and net capital inflows reached $10 billion, according to a preliminary estimation.