Russia is now more competitive than China in terms of productions costs, says a report by BCG that looked into 25 leading exporting economies.

      The improvement has been due to a freeze on pay rise and rouble devaluation following the introduction of sanctions and a plunge of oil prices.

      This may be good for the long-term but short-term it only benefits exporters, not households.

      In the meantime, as Russia-IC reports, Russians are beginning to increase spending as a sign of the recovering economy amid ongoing sanctions, persistent inflation and a freeze on pay rise.

      According to a survey by Nielsen, Q2 2015 marked an end to the self-imposed austerity policy for Russian households who are becoming increasingly optimistic about economic outlook.

      35 percent are opening up their wallets for more purchases. But the number of the thrifty folks is still high, around 65 percent are still keeping their fridges half-empty.

      Earlier, Russia-IC reported that inflation will grow faster than wages in 2015 in Russia, according to VTB Bank.

      Speaking to the RBC TV network, VTB24 CEO Mikhail Zadornov said real wages dropped 3-5 percent and are bound to further shrink to 6-7 percent by the end of the year.