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According to the latest survey conducted by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) in March 2026, the Business Climate Index falls by 1.7 points to 43.8 points, marking a 12-month low. The negative trend is primarily driven by deteriorating personal assessments of the business climate, alongside declines in the B2B, B2G, and Financial Markets indices.
Product Market and Pricing Trends
The Product Market Index stands at 45.9 points, gaining 0.6 points from February. The procurement price indicator rises by 7.1 points to 25.3 points, as the share of companies reporting rising procurement costs declines from two-thirds to 54.2%, with more respondents opting for “prices unchanged.” In contrast, the selling prices indicator drops by 4.8 points to 55.3 points, reflecting a reduction in the share of companies raising prices from 31.6% to 23.4%.
Demand and Competition
Sectoral demand remains nearly unchanged at 41.5 points, down just 0.3 points, while demand for companies’ own products or services falls by 1.9 points to 42.3 points. Nearly one-third of respondents report a decline in demand, compared to 27.4% in February. Competitive pressure intensifies, with 29.7% of companies reporting increased competition. The competition indicator rises by 2.5 points to 64.9 points.
Orders and Contractual Obligations
The B2B index declines by 1.2 points to 43.9 points. The new orders indicator turns negative for the first time in four months, dropping to 48.3 points. Order fulfillment timelines improve slightly, with the indicator gaining 2.3 points to 47.3 points, though negative assessments still prevail. The gap between companies reporting longer versus shorter fulfillment times narrows to 4.2%, compared to 9.4% in February.
Obligations toward counterparties and from counterparties both worsen. The former falls by 1.4 points to 43.9 points, while the latter drops by 2 points to 35.9 points. The share of companies reporting an increase in overdue obligations to counterparties stands at 14.8%, and 31.9% report a rise in obligations owed to them.
Logistics and Inventory
The Logistics Index approaches the threshold, rising to 49.0 points. Negative assessments of logistics conditions fall by 5 percentage points to 11.7%, as more companies report no change, pushing the logistics conditions indicator up by 2.9 points to 46.8 points. Average delivery times also improve, with the corresponding indicator gaining 4.7 points. Inventory levels remain in positive territory but decline by 3.4 points to 53.2 points.
Government and Financial Relations
The B2G (Business-Government) Index returns to negative territory, falling from 51.8 points to 48.9 points. The business-government relations indicator drops sharply by 6.8 points to 50.8 points, as the share of negative assessments rises from 1.5% to 6.4%. In contrast, relations with banks and financial institutions improve by 1.3 points to 49.7 points. Relations with foreign partners deteriorate, with the indicator falling 2.9 points as negative assessments increase.
Financial Markets and Corporate Health
The Financial Markets Index declines by 2.5 points to 42.8 points. The financial position of companies falls by 3.8 points to 43.4 points, with 31.9% of respondents reporting deterioration, up from 27.4% in February. The stock market indicator drops 3.6 points to 43.9 points, as the share of negative assessments rises from 10% to 14.9%. The currency market indicator holds steady at 44.9 points.
Personal Business Climate Assessments
Negative personal assessments of the business climate rise sharply, with 43.6% of respondents reporting worsening conditions, compared to 33.6% in February. The Personal Assessments Index falls by 6 points to 32.2 points, its lowest level since December 2025.
Social and Investment Activity
Approximately 60% of surveyed enterprises are implementing investment programs in March. Among them, only half are proceeding without changes to schedules or budgets, while the share reporting delays rises significantly by 13 percentage points to 30.6%. One-quarter of companies reduce investment funding, while only 8.1% manage to increase it.
Hiring activity is reported by 81.9% of organizations. Layoffs are implemented by 5.3% of companies, and 11.7% take measures to reduce working hours.
Social programs for employees remain in place at 85.1% of firms, with programs supporting other categories of citizens present at 58.5% of companies. The most common employee social programs include vouchers for health and children’s recreation (71.6%), voluntary health insurance (67.9%), and additional payments beyond the Labor Code (66.7%). Budgets for employee social programs remain unchanged at 82.6% of companies, while 9.3% report an increase and 8.1% report a reduction.
Two-thirds of surveyed companies implement additional measures to reduce labor market tensions. More than half (52.1%) provide internships, 40.4% invest in advanced training for employees, and one-fifth organize temporary employment programs.