The Russian Expansion

The Russian economy expanded in April at the fastest pace since November 2008 as companies restarted hiring. GDP for the nation rose 1.2 percent in April ahead of the 0.3 percent increase in March. Since 1998, Russian GDP has averaged a 5 percent monthly growth according to VBT Capital. Combing record low interest rates and government fueled fiscal stimulus, the Russian economy raised spending by nearly 27 percent last year and has helped pulled the world’s largest energy supplier out of its worst economic decline since 1991.

Merrill Lynch analysts predict that the Russian economy could be the best growth story through 2010, with its economy expanding 7 percent overall. The official Russian Economic Ministry numbers show growth in the 3 to 4 percent range. Either way, the growth beats the nearly 8 percent contractions it faced in 2009.

Investors looking to tap into this growth can do so with the SPDR S&P Russia (NYSE: RBL) or the Market Vectors Russia (NYSE: RSX) both are Russia centric exchange traded funds with a focus energy and basic materials. For investors wanting to add the growth in the Eastern Europe region, the SPDR S&P Emerging Europe (NYSE: GUR), still heavy in Russian Stocks, adds Poland, Turkey and the Czech Republic.