Between August 31 and September 7, the price trajectory of the candy brands known as Bear Clubfoot moved upward in several Russian retail outlets, rising by 42.9 percent. This observation comes from Alexander Abramov, who leads the Laboratory for Analysis of Institutions and Financial Markets at the Presidential Academy IPEI and is the author of the Mishek Index. Abramov shared the finding with socialbites.ca, noting that the week showed notable shifts across multiple food categories.
Across other items, certain staples showed price declines. Carrots fell by 17.9 percent, orange juice labeled J7 dropped by 15.9 percent, Matias herring slid 5.3 percent, and butter decreased by 3 percent. In contrast to these declines, milk branded Domik v Derevne experienced a price increase of 9.6 percent. The overall takeaway from this period is that chocolate prices tend to fluctuate substantially and frequently, which contributed to a 0.7 percent rise in the Bears Index for the week, reversing a 1.8 percent decline recorded in the previous week, according to the economist’s analysis.
Rosstat’s latest data show that consumer prices in Russia edged down by 0.02 percent from August 27 to September 2. The year-over-year inflation rate slowed to 8.87 percent from 9.01 percent the week prior. This marks the first minor price decline since February 2023, with inflation since January running at 5.17 percent on an annual basis. The softer weekly movement in the official statistics contrasts with the more variable changes seen in retail goods, including the items tracked by the Bears Index and related consumer products.
From August 25 through September 1, 2024, the Bears Index decreased by 1.8 percent, continuing a slightly larger dip than the prior week which saw a 0.6 percent drop. In effect, the observed inflation for the Bears Index period was lower than the rate reported in the official statistics for the same timeframe, suggesting a divergence that sometimes appears between market baskets and broader price measures.
The Bears Index basket comprises fourteen commonly purchased grocery items. It includes sweets such as Fruit-tella gummy bears and the brand named Bears with Nailed Feet, the J-7 orange juice, the cheapest white bread, carrots, bananas, Matias herring, milk from the brand House in the Village, sunflower oil Oleina, the most affordable chicken carcass, tea Akbar, butter Prostokvashino, and processed cheese Fetaksa. By following these daily price movements, the Mishek Index provides a lens for understanding inflation trends within Russia and how households experience changes in the cost of living over time. This approach helps analysts and policymakers gauge how different segments in the market respond to shifts in prices across a broad basket of goods and basic necessities.
In recent commentary, an expert had noted a reduction in prices across Russia, highlighting a momentary easing in price pressure. Observers often track these fluctuations to assess whether they signal a longer-term slowdown or merely temporary adjustments in consumption patterns and supply chains. The ongoing analysis from both the Bears and Mishek indices aims to illuminate how ordinary households are affected by price dynamics and what this might imply for consumer budgets in the near term.