Russian economy contracts 1.7% in Jan-Sept, capital investment up 5.9% y/y -data

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian economy shrank 1.7% in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period of 2021, the Rosstat federal statistics service said on Wednesday, citing preliminary data.

Russia's capital investment rose 5.9% year-on-year between January and September to reach 16.418 trillion roubles ($271.65 billion), after a 7.8% increase in the same period a year ago, Rosstat said.

Russia's economic landscape changed drastically after Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, triggering sweeping Western sanctions on its energy and financial sectors, including a partial freeze of Russian reserves, and prompting scores of foreign companies to exit the market.

Officials, economists and analysts have gradually been improving their forecasts for Russia's economic prospects, having initially predicted a double-digit economic contraction soon after the conflict began.

($1 = 60.4390 roubles)

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow and Darya Korsunskaya; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)