Russia is in recession: IMF

The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that Russia is already in recession and slashed its growth forecast for 2014 citing the effect of the Ukraine crisis on investment. "If we define recession as negative growth in two quarters in a row, then Russia from that point of view is experiencing recession," IMF economist Antonio Spilimbergo was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. The IMF has lowered its 2014 growth forecast for Russia to 0.2 percent from the 1.3-percent figure it issued on April 8, Spilimbergo said. "We have clarified our forecast on Russia's economic growth. We expect growth at the level of 0.2 percent this year." The IMF's decision came taking into account "the difficult current situation and the significant level of uncertainty related to geopolitical tensions and sanctions," Spilimbergo was quoted as saying in comments translated into Russian, according to AFP.