Russia: Inflation rises in January
Consumer prices increased 0.99% in January over the previous month, picking up from the 0.82% rise logged in December. January’s figure marked the highest reading since October 2021. The upturn was broad-based, amid surging prices for food, non-food products and services.
Inflation inched up to 8.7% in January from December’s 8.4%. January’s result marked the highest inflation rate since January 2016. As a result, annual average inflation rose to 7.0% in January (December: 6.7%). Finally, core inflation rose to 9.2% in January, from December’s 8.9%.
Commenting on the inflationary and monetary policy outlook, Dmitry Dolgin, chief Russia economist at ING, noted:
“We believe that the further acceleration of CPI in January-February and stronger-than-expected local demand at the end of 2021 support the Bank of Russia’s narrative of elevated inflationary risk for the medium term. We reiterate our call that the Bank of Russia is likely to make a 100 basis point hike, reaffirm its hawkish guidance, and raise its official CPI and key rate guidance for 2022.”