Russian FM: Gross Domestic Product to Rise

Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Sunday his country’s gross domestic product could increase by 7.3 percent this year.

Speaking with journalists in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, Kudrin said the rate of increase can be reached if current economic trends continue, RIA Novosti reported.

The percentage from the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade comes after the government initially predicted Russia’s 2007 GDP would only rise by 6.5 percent.

The alteration in that initial prediction came once the annualized growth rate during the first seven months of the year hit 7.9 percent, the Russian press agency reported.

Kudrin also announced the Russian economy is in the midst of a nearly 20 percent increase and the GDP for the next three years should range between 6.0and 6.3 percent.