According to the interest rate statement, the monetary policy in Russia will be continued to be restrictive for a longer period. The next interest rate step is decided by the development of inflation and inflation expectations in the Russian economy, reports the news agency Bloomberg.
Inflation in the Russian war economy – which to a large extent is based on revenues from the country's strong oil exports – has decreased recently, according to the country's statistics bureau. But it is almost 10 percent right now according to the latest measurement, which can be compared to the central bank's target of 4 percent.
Torbjörn Becker, head of the Institute for East European Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics, points at the same time to sharply rising food prices in Russia and believes that inflation is actually higher than 10 percent.
Much of the economic statistics that come from Russia is now a part of a narrative that says Russia is strong, that the economy is doing well and that the sanctions against the country do not play any role. It is a part of the war propaganda, he says to Dagens Nyheter.
