MOSCOW Reuters - Russia's consumer price index fell to its lowest point in three weeks in a row after a massive spike in March, leaving the central bank with room to cut rates to limit the economic downturn, data showed on Wednesday.
Consumer prices in Russia rose by 11.51% this year, according to the federal statistics service Rosstat.
The economy ministry said consumer inflation slowed to 16.22% as of June 24, down from 16.42% a week earlier in the day.
Russia will see a decline in the consumer price index in June as demand in the economy remains strong, Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov told a conference on Wednesday.
The Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, who spoke at the conference, said her bank would cut rates as inflation slows. The next board meeting, where the central bank can cut its key rate from 9.5%, is scheduled for July 22.
The annual inflation, which has been slowing recently from the 17.83% it reached in April, has been its highest since early 2002, due to a rapid recovery in the rouble and a drop in consumer demand.
Russia recorded a weekly deflation in May for the first time since August 2021 after weekly inflation spiked to 2.22% in early March after Russia called a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24.
Prices on almost everything, from vegetables and sugar to clothes and phones, have gone up since February 24 as Russia has had logistical disruptions and increased volatility in the rouble.