Russia records zero weekly inflation as another rates meeting looms
2022.06.01 19:27
FILE PHOTO: Local resident Maria Komissarova, 29, holds Russian rouble coins and a 50-rouble banknote as she buys food at a supermarket in the Siberian town of Tara in the Omsk region, Russia, December 14, 2021. REUTERS/Alexey Malgavko
(Reuters) – Russia recorded a zero increase in consumer prices after modest deflation the week before, data showed on Wednesday, ahead of the central bank’s rate-setting meeting scheduled for June 10.
Weekly inflation spiked to 2.22% in early March, soon after Russia started what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 24, but has been slowing since then, capped by a rapid recovery in the rouble.
In the week to May 27, the consumer price index (CPI) was unchanged after declining 0.02% in the previous week for the first time since August 2021, data from statistics service Rosstat showed.
Inflation is slowing even after the central bank lowered its key interest rate to 11% in May and said it saw room for more cuts this year, as it tries to manage a shrinking economy and high inflation.
So far this year, consumer prices in Russia have risen 11.82%, Rosstat said.
Prices for nearly everything, from vegetables and sugar to clothes and smartphones, have risen sharply in recent weeks as Russia encountered logistics disruptions and increased volatility in the rouble.
Annual inflation has slowed to 17.51% as of May 20 from 17.83% in April, which was its highest since January 2002. The central bank expects inflation to reach its 4% target in 2024.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that inflation won’t exceed 15% this year.
