OREANDA-NEWS. On 19 May 2009 was announced, that the slowdown of the national economy was suspended in April 2009, Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Tur told a news conference.

“We observed a slight growth in the gross domestic product in April, by 1.2% year-on-year. We are very pleased that the slowdown in industry has slowed,” Tur said, adding that industrial output decreased 3.6% on the year in April, compared to the decrease of 4.5% in the first quarter.

“In April, consumer inflation expanded 0.4%, while we had expected it to reach 0.6%. The economy seems able to adapt to foreign factors,” Tur said.

Asked whether April was the turning point, Tur said April was probably the month, on which the whole six-month period would depend. “Whether or not the negative tendency is over will be seen after the first half of the year. We do not plan to revise the forecast,” he added.