Russia: Inflation comes in at highest level since February in July
Inflation came in at 4.3% in July, which was up from June’s 3.2%. July’s figure marked the highest inflation rate since February and was driven by accelerating price growth for both food and non-food goods. In contrast, services inflation cooled somewhat, but remained in a double-digit territory in July.
The trend pointed down, with annual average inflation coming in at 8.3% in July (June: 9.2%). Meanwhile, core inflation rose to 3.2% in July, from June’s 2.4%.
Finally, consumer prices rose 0.63% in July over the previous month, accelerating from June’s 0.37% increase. July’s figure marked the highest reading since January.
Commenting on the inflationary outlook, analysts at Goldman Sachs said:
“Price growth has consistently been high in services since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but goods inflation has only started picking up in recent months. With continuing loose fiscal policy, we expect inflation to continue to rise throughout the year to +7.0% yoy in December, above the CBR’s July inflation forecast range of +5.0% – +6.5%.”