MOSCOW - Russia had 2.2 percent inflation in February, down from 3.9 percent in January and 2.6 percent in December, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) said.
The February inflation figure exactly matched the consensus forecast of economists surveyed by Interfax and was only slightly higher than Rosstat’s preliminary estimate, 2 percent, which is based on weekly inflation figures drawn from a narrower basket of consumer goods.
In January, the gap between the inflation estimates was unexpectedly wide: 3.9 percent compared with 2.7 percent based on the weekly figures.
“The 3.9 percent is the final estimate. Prior to this we had preliminary estimates for a narrow range of goods. We always say that weekly figures are preliminary and that monthly figures can differ from them,” Rosstat told Interfax at the time.
Inflation in annual terms rose to 16.5 percent in February, up from 15 percent in January and 11.4 percent in December.
