Annual inflation in Russia will slow down from 7.69% in February to 7.3% on an annual basis in March. This forecast was given to socialbites.ca by BitRiver financial analyst Vladislav Antonov, who commented on President Vladimir Putin’s statement that inflation will reach zero in the first two weeks of March.
“Weekly inflation is of course not a long-term trend. However, the slowdown in monthly inflation in February and the low weekly inflation rates in early March may indicate that the price increase rate may slow down in the medium term, that is, in March. The analyst noted that the rate of increase in fruit and vegetable inflation decreased noticeably on an annual and monthly basis in February.
Antonov reminded that traditionally, January and February are the most inflationary months in Russia due to the strong increase in prices of fresh vegetables and fruits. He explained that no one in Russia is limiting inflation, especially for presidential elections: no laws have been adopted to limit price increases, and anti-monopoly authorities on retail trade “are not very tough.” Therefore, Antonov described the slowdown in price growth in the country as “the result of the key interest rate increases of the Central Bank in the past, although not yet very sure.”
The Central Bank has increased its key interest rate five times since July 21, 2023 – to 16% annually on December 15. On February 16, 2024, the regulator left it at this level. The next meeting of the Central Bank will be held on March 22.
In a meeting with government members on March 14, Putin said that inflation reached zero in the first few weeks of March.
Previously, socialbites.ca warned about the increase in prices beer And chocolate in stores.