MOSCOW (Reuters) – Inflation in Russia reached 9.5 percent this year, statistics agency Rosstat said on Wednesday, according to new weekly data showing the consumer price index rose 0.33 percent in the week leading up to Dec. 23.
This data comes in the wake of the central bank's unexpected decision last week to keep the key interest rate at 21%. The recent tightening created favorable conditions for inflation to fall towards its 4% target, the regulator said.
The agency noted that the seasonally fluctuating prices of fruits and vegetables contributed significantly to the overall increase, as cucumber prices rose by 8.3% and tomato prices by 1.9% in just one week.
Among the less seasonally allergenic foods, the price of eggs rose by 1.7%, and frozen fish by 1.4%. The central bank had initially estimated the inflation rate this year at a maximum of 8.5%.
Inflation for the full year will range between 9.6% and 9.8%, the head of the central bank's Monetary Policy Department, Andrei Zhangan, told the Interfax news agency on December 24.
Inflationary expectations among households for next year reached 13.9% in December, the highest level since the beginning of the year.
In a report on the Inflationary Expectations Survey, the central bank said that participants were most concerned about rising prices of milk, dairy products, eggs, meat and fish.
She also said that participants began to notice increases in the prices of home appliances and electronic devices.
