The continuing labour shortage has pushed up wages and increased inflation, which hit 9.9% earlier this year amid Western economic sanctions.

Oil prices rose by less than 1% after the European Union agreed to lower the price cap on Russian crude oil, Bloomberg reports. The price of Brent crude exceeded $70 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate surpassed $68 per barrel.

Russia’s economy is beginning to show signs of strain, and immediate action is needed to loosen monetary policy to prevent further decline, according

Russian authorities have confiscated assets worth some $50 billion over the past three years, underscoring the scale of the transformation into a "fortress Russia" economic model during the war in Ukraine,

Vehicle prices are unaffordable for many Russians. The Central Bank has imposed stricter loan policies and increased interest rates.

The rising gasoline price is the "main shock" in Rosstat's inflation data, MMI analysts wrote. On an annualized basis, gas station price increases held above 11% for the sixth consecutive month. These are record values since 2018, when the fuel crisis gripped the country.

Officials have warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that a demographic crisis could mean the country he leads will be short millions of workers by the end of the decade.

EU policymakers on Friday signaled that the price at which non-G7 countries could purchase Russian crude and access G7 logistics services has been lowered.

Since its illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has become the most sanctioned nation on Earth, and yet its economy has been remarkably resilient. In 2024, if Russian official figures are to believed, its economy outgrew those of all the G7 nations - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US.

Russia's economy is cooling, with a top minister suggesting it's on the verge of a recession amid record-high defense spending and sanctions.

Crude oil futures were little changed on Friday on mixed U.S. economic and tariff news and worries about oil supplies following the European Union's latest sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Russian minister Maxim Reshetnikov has warned that the country's economy was teetering "on the brink of recession".