Russia: Inflation accelerates in February
In February, consumer prices rose 0.4% from the previous month, below the 1.0% increase recorded in January, which had marked the sharpest rise in three years. According to Rosstat, higher prices for food products led the overall price increase in February.
Meanwhile, inflation jumped to 5.2% in February from 5.0% in January, marking the highest reading since December 2016. Nevertheless, February’s reading came in below the expectations of market analysts as the effects of January’s value-added tax hike have been milder than expected, partly due to weaker consumer demand dynamics so far this year.
Lastly, annual average inflation rose to 3.6% in February, from January’s 3.2%.