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Central bank hopes to contain inflation within 6-7% annual targetFRANFURT, February 4 - Russia's Central Bank is maintaining its annual inflation forecast of 6-7% despite a 2.4% growth in consumer prices in January, the bank's head Sergei Ignatyev said on Friday. "I personally think that there is still hope and the forecast does not need to be adjusted yet," Ignatyev said, adding the Central Bank was nevertheless concerned about rising prices. Ignatyev attributed the inflation spurt to growing food prices in the wake of the drought in the summer of 2010 and consequent poor harvest. He said prices for non-food commodities also saw an upward trend in the past month or two. The Central Bank chief said prices would continue to grow year-on-year in the next two to three months. According to the Federal Statistics Service, consumer prices climbed 2.4% in January against 1.6% in January 2010, which Ignatyev also blamed on heavy crop losses. "Prices for vegetables and other food products continue to grow, the process will apparently last until the middle of next year," Ignatyev said. Earlier this week, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said inflation in the first half of 2011 would exceed the projected figure but would slow down in the second half of the year. The government is so far sticking to its 6-7% target. Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach said this week that inflation could top 7-8% by the end of the year, while his boss, Minister Elvira Nabiullina said the ministry might revise the annual inflation target depending on the first quarter figures from the statistics service. In 2010, annual inflation in Russia hit 8.8%, which was beyond all forecasts and equaled the figures for 2009, a year of global financial meltdown. Source: RIA Novosti
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