Russian official optimistic about Russia's economic development in 2015

Russian economy has passed the lowest point and there are signs of stabilization, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Thursday.

"Economic situation remains complicated but significant signs of stabilization have emerged," Alexei Ulyukayev was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.

Among the signs, he mentioned flat inflation rate during the past four weeks, the appreciation of the ruble, which is recovering against the U.S. dollar and euro this week, and the fading of inflationary and devaluation expectations from market players.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service, inflation rate remained at 0.2 percent for the fourth week in a row, while the ruble reached its peak since the start of the year, with the ruble to the U.S. dollar trading at around 56.

While the government forecast the annual inflation to reach 16. 7 percent, compared with 11.4 percent last year, Ulyukaev put the rate at 12 percent.

Ulyukayev predicted the capital outflow this year would be below expectations and that Russia's gross domestic product may decline this year by 2.5 percent compared to the earlier estimation of 3 percent.

The official called the country's central bank to continue cutting its key interest rate which currently stands at 14 percent. Last December, the bank pushed up the interest rate to 17 percent in an effort to put out panic in financial markets. Endite