Highest since 2015: Russian inflation goes through the roof as level accelerates to 12.5 per cent
It seems another headache is coming Vladimir Putin’s way as inflation in Russia has shot up to 12.5 per cent, the country’s highest level since 2015.
Annual inflation in Russia accelerated to 12.5 per cent as of March 11, its highest since late 2015 and up from 10.4 per cent a week earlier, the economy ministry said on Wednesday, according to a Reuters report.
A weakening rouble is sending prices soaring amid unprecedented Western sanctions.
The inflation accelerated sharply as the currency fell to an all-time low and amid signs of increased demand for a wide range of goods, from food staples to cars, on expectations that their prices will rise further.
Weekly inflation slowed slightly to 2.09 per cent in the week to March 11 from 2.2 per cent a week earlier, which was the sharpest one-week increase in prices since the 1998 crisis, data from statistics service Rosstat showed, as reported by Reuters.
Prices of nearly everything from baby food to pharmaceuticals rose sharply last week, with sugar and tomato prices rising by more than 12 per cent, Rosstat data showed.
Russia’s central bank will reportedly meet this Friday and is expected to keep the cost of lending unchanged.
The central bank, which targets annual inflation at 4 per cent, raised its key rate to 20 per cent in late February.
“Tight monetary conditions facilitate inflation slowdown but, in our view, they won’t save it from soaring above 20 per cent this year,” Raiffeisen Bank analysts said.