Russian economy shrank 1.2pc in first quarter

Russia's economy contracted by 1.2 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with the same quarter last year, in a tentative sign of stabilisation, the state statistics service said on Monday.

The latest GDP figures compared favourably to the 3.8 percent contraction in the last quarter of 2015 and were better the forecast by Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev who had expected a decline of 1.4 percent in the first quarter.

Russia has seen its economy slump into a profound recession, partly on the back of the fall in oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow's role in the Ukraine conflict.

London's Capital Economic consultancy said the year-on-year figure confirmed "the acute phase of the crisis is now over."