Statistics Committee posts inflation rate - 16 December, 2002

From December 1 to 9, 2002, the inflation rate amounted to 0.5 percent in Russia, the State Statistics Committee reported. The average daily price growth was 0.059 percent over these days against 0.051 percent in the corresponding period of 2001. Over the first nine days of November 2002, this growth was 0.053 percent. It is worth mentioning that in November 2002, the inflation rate reached 1.6 percent; over the first eleven months of 2002, the inflation rate amounted to 13.3 percent. The 2003 budget stipulates a 12-percent inflation rate.

In the opinion of Sergey Ignatyev, the Chairman of the Russian Central Bank, voiced at a plenary meeting of the State Duma on December 11, 2002, this year's inflation rate will be 14.5 to 15 percent. According to him, the planned level of 12 to 14 percent will not be reached due to non-monetary factors, an increase in fruit and vegetable prices among them.