Russia’s inflation hits 9.5 percent in 2023, driven by food price increases
Date
12/26/2024 8:43:33 AM
(MENAFN) Russia's inflation has reached 9.5 percent this year, as revealed by new weekly data showing a 0.33 percent rise in the consumer price index for the week leading up to December 23, according to the country's statistical agency.
This follows the Russian central bank's surprise decision last week to keep its key interest rate at 21 percent. The bank stated that recent tightening measures have set the stage for reducing inflation toward its target of 4 percent.
The data pointed to significant price hikes in seasonally volatile items, particularly fruits and vegetables. Prices for cucumbers surged by 8.3 percent, and tomatoes rose by 1.9 percent within a single week.
Additionally, prices for other food items, such as eggs (up by 1.7 percent) and frozen fish (up by 1.4 percent), also saw increases. The central bank had initially projected a maximum inflation rate of 8.5 percent for this year.
Andrei Gangan, head of the central bank’s monetary policy department, told the Interfax news agency on December 24 that the full-year inflation rate will likely fall between 9.6 percent and 9.8 percent.
Inflation expectations among Russian households for the coming year also reached 13.9 percent in December, the highest level recorded since the beginning of the year.
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