Forecasts suggest that Russia’s annual inflation will ease from 7.69% in February to about 7.3% in March. This outlook comes from BitRiver financial analyst Vladislav Antonov, who commented on President Vladimir Putin’s assertion that inflation would drop to zero in the first two weeks of March. (Source: Socialbites.ca)
Antonov cautioned that a weekly fluctuation in inflation does not establish a long-range trend. Still, the seasonal slowdown in February’s monthly inflation and the notably low early-March weekly rates could hint at a slower price-increase pace in the medium term, particularly through March. He also pointed out that the rise in prices for fruit and vegetables slowed both year over year and compared with the previous month during February. (Source: Socialbites.ca)
The analyst noted that January and February have traditionally been the most inflationary months in Russia, driven by sharp price increases for fresh fruits and vegetables. He argued that inflation is not being curtailed by any legal measures, especially in the run-up to presidential elections, and that there have been no new laws limiting price growth. He also criticized antitrust actions in retail as not particularly stringent. Consequently, Antonov described the observed slowdown in price growth as the byproduct of previous key interest-rate hikes by the Central Bank, though he cautioned that the effect remains uncertain. (Source: Socialbites.ca)
The Central Bank has raised its key interest rate five times since July 21, 2023, bringing it to 16% annually by December 15. On February 16, 2024, the regulator kept the rate at that level. The next policy meeting was scheduled for March 22. (Source: Socialbites.ca)
During a meeting with government officials on March 14, Putin stated that inflation effectively reached zero in the early weeks of March. (Source: Socialbites.ca)
Earlier, socialbites.ca had warned about rising prices in beer and chocolate in retail outlets, signaling continuing price pressures across consumer goods. (Source: Socialbites.ca)