Rosstat released its monthly raft of economic statistics for the December this week with the due date of the regular weekly CPI on the horizon.

VTB analysts Vladimir Kolychev and Daria Isakova said this week that Rosstat is unlikely to release encouraging statistics in the report despite a growth in car sales and an increase in non-CIS imports. The analysts say that lending has been decelerating and that the labor market is cooling.

The analysts expect an increase of 1.4 percent in year-on-year for the 2013 fiscal year with the implication of an optical rebound in the fourth quarter of 2013 due to the strong base effect in agriculture and a surge in exports of gas.

Poland data shows a general improvement in the second and third quarters of 2013. The analysts expect a dip in growth of 1.5 percent due to weak household consumption, fiscal tightening and a decrease in public investment. It also reflects slow European economies. The analysts say this could recover in 2014, though, to 3 percent year-on-year with the assistance of firmer local demand and a tighter labor market.