
The rate of price level growth in Russia came within sight of the 9% mark in January. Meanwhile, the Russian central bank has raised its key interest rates seven times in the past year. But even this has not yet stopped inflation.
Russian inflation climbed to 8.73 percent year-on-year in January. That’s the most since 2016. Citing Russia’s statistics agency Rosstat, Reuters reported this. In month-on-month terms, consumer prices in Russia then rose by 0.99 percent. Compared to December 2021, food prices rose the most, by 1.44 percent.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has been struggling with an excessively high rate of price level growth since last year. In the course of that period, it has raised its key interest rates seven times. The key one, on which interest rates on savings and credit products on the financial market are based, has already reached 8.5 per cent.
According to analysts, Russian central bankers can be expected to raise rates further this Friday, by a full percentage point to 9.5 percent. The Russian central bank targets inflation at four percent a year, so its current level is roughly double of that.