Russia’s rate of inflation ticked up in November as the value of the ruble plummeted to lows not seen since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, official data showed Wednesday.
The Kremlin has massively ramped up spending on the Ukraine war, an expenditure that has ballooned the size of the economy but led to deep labor shortages and price rises.
Prices rose 8.9% on an annual basis last month, according to the Rosstat statistics agency, up from 8.5% in October and more than double the state’s 4% target.
The figure is a further signal the central bank is likely to hike its key rate when policymakers meet on Dec. 20, as it seeks to rein in runaway inflation and buttress the ruble.
Borrowing costs are already at their highest levels in two decades.
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The ruble slumped to its weakest level against the dollar in over two-and-a-half years last month.
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The head of the country’s biggest lender warned last week the economy was showing “significant” signs of a slowdown in some sectors, including in housing construction and investment.
Sberbank CEO German Gref cautioned the Central Bank against “overshooting” on its rates policy, making it “harder to return to the rails of economic growth.”
Higher prices were recorded for services (+11.4% vs. +11.3% in October) and food (+9.9% vs. +9%), notably butter (+34.1% vs +29.7%) and fruit and vegetables (+18.7% vs +13.5%). Meanwhile, non-food product price growth remained steady at 5.7%.
Oh no, what could the Russian government have done to avoid this!!?!?1