MOSCOW - Russian industrial output rose 3.8 percent in January to August 2002 compared with the same period last year, first deputy economy and trade minister Ivan Materov said on Friday. Materov said output in August had risen 3.4 percent compared to August the previous year. He gave no further details. Government forecasts put Russia's industrial growth over the whole of 2002 at 4.4 percent. After strong industrial output growth in July, Russia increased its 2002 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 3.9 percent from a revised 3.8 percent. In 2001, Russia's economy grew by five percent. The Goskomstat state statistics committee is due to release August industrial output figures next week. According to figures released by Goskomstat last month, industrial output increased 7.8 percent in July compared to the same month last year. /Reuters/
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