Prices will likely increase by 0.2 percent to 0.3 percent by year-end, Central Bank First Deputy Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev said Thursday.
“It’s clear that [zero inflation] isn’t endless — in November and December, inflation will be within 1 percent,” he said.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last month that inflation would be slightly above 8 percent for the year after no price increases for August through October.
Ulyukayev also said the Central Bank could cut its benchmark interest rates again by the end of December. The regulator has made eight cuts to its refinancing rate since April, most recently taking the benchmark rate to a historic low of 9.5 percent.
“The main cause of the lack of price growth is the overall weakness of the economy,” said Olga Naidenova, an analyst at Otkritie.
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