The ruble has lost almost half its value against the dollar over the past 12 months. Photo: European Pressphoto Agency MOSCOW—Economic data published Wednesday showed Russia’s economy moving further toward recession under the weight of Western sanctions and a sharp decline in the price for oil, its main source of hard currency. Although the rate of inflation is slowing, a sharp decline in retail sales and a drop in real wages indicated that consumers are bearing the brunt of the economic pressure. The government expects gross domestic product to shrink by 3% in 2015, the first drop since 2009; many private economists expect a deeper contraction. The Wednesday data from the Federal Statistics Service RosStat showed a decline in domestic demand, which had been one of the main drivers of the economy for years, but has been hit by a […]