Russian inflation falls under four percent: Rosstat

Inflation dropped below four percent in March for the first time since the West slammed Russia with a slew of sanctions over Ukraine, state statistics agency Rosstat said Wednesday.

Inflation in March stood at 3.51 percent year-on-year, down sharply from 10.99 percent in February.

The sharp decrease however does not reflect a real drop in prices in Russia after inflation in March last year skyrocketed following the sanctions.

Inflation in March 2022 was significantly higher than in February last year, so the year-on-year comparison shows a sharp decline.

Prices soared in the second quarter of 2022 in the weeks that followed the start of the military intervention in Ukraine.

In April 2022 inflation jumped to a two-decade high of 17.8 percent.

Russian Central Bank head Elvira Nabiulina said mid-February that inflation in Russia should be “between five and seven percent” by the end of the year.

But despite the drop in inflation, the Central Bank is unlikely to change its key rate of 7.5 percent, according to Dmitry Polevoy, director of investments at Locko Invest in Moscow.