Russian industrial output dips in Nov

Russian industrial production shrank the most since the economic collapse of 1998 in November as the global slowdown reduced demand for steel, pipes and fertilizers, pushing the nation to the brink of recession.

Output contracted 8.7 percent after growing 0.6 percent in October, the Moscow-based Federal Statistics Service said yesterday. Production shrank for the first time since new methodology was introduced in 2003 and the biggest decline since 1998, when the government defaulted on $40 billion in debt.

Russia is not in recession "yet" and the economy will grow by as much as 3 percent next year, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said. Barclay's Capital said on Dec 10 that the economy will sink into recession next year, as eight years of growth averaging above 7 percent comes to a halt.