By Late This Year Inflation In Russia Can Make Up 20 Percent

The results of the first four months of this year show that inflation in Russia will make up 9 percent, deputy chairman of the State Duma budget and tax committee Mikhail Zadornov said speaking on Tuesday at a conference Audit in Russia. According to Zadornov, this figure is considerably higher than the respective figure for the same period last year. "It exceeds the targets of the government and the Central Bank," Zadornov emphasized. By his estimate, inflation in Russia may make up 20 percent by the end of the year. Zadornov noted that in the first quarter of 2001 the economic growth in Russia made up 2.5 percent of the GDP which is half of the respective growth in the first quarter last year. He labelled the tendency of high inflation accompanying the slower economic growth as alarming. At the same time, "all the basic indicators of the Russian economy remain normal," Zadornov noted.

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