Economy Ministry releases inflation analysis

According to the estimates of the Russian Economy Ministry, the inflationrate will be 10.3 to 10.5 percent in the first nine months of 2002 inRussia, while over 2002, this figure will reach 14 percent. The EconomyMinistry posted this information in a survey of the social and economicdevelopment of Russia in January-July 2002 and estimates till the end of2002. In the first seven months of 2002, customer prices gained 9.8percent, which was 3.4 percent less than in the corresponding period of2001 (13.2 percent). The survey points out that this decrease in theinflation rate is attributed to a slow-down of growth rate of money supplyin 2002 against 2001. The M2 money supply grew by 9.1 percent sinceDecember 2001 till June 2002, as compared to 13.1 percent of thecorresponding period of 2001.In the first seven months of 2002, the share of the increase in tariffs forpaid services rendered to the population, was 38 percent and amounted to3.6 percent of the 9.8-percent inflation rate. Last year, their sharereached 26 percent in the inflation rate, amounting to 3.5 percent of theinflation rate. The share of commodity price growth in the inflation ratewas 6.2 percent in January-July 2002, while in the corresponding period of2001, it amounted to 9.7 percent. The share of food price growth was 4.2percent (7.6 percent in 2001) and of non-food price growth 2 percent (2.1percent)..