Russia's economy still overheating; peak has passed - Sberbank CEO Herman Gref

MOSCOW. Sept 5 (Interfax) - Russia's economy is still overheating, though the peak has already passed, Sberbank CEO Herman Gref said.

"Overheating, as such, is still there, though dynamics have now stabilized," Gref told journalists at the Eastern Economic Forum, noting all the historically low unemployment rates and high rates of production capacity utilization.

"It is too soon to say that the economy is exiting overheating," Gref said, while also indicating decelerating growth in a number of economic indicators. "This suggests that we have after all probably passed the peak," Gref added.

Gref noted that the effect of high demand on prices persists, and household and corporate inflation expectations, respectively, remain at an elevated level.

"Therefore, it is probably too soon to say that we have passed the peak of inflation," he said. Gref hopes that there will be zero growth in prices, or even a decrease, in September. "Nevertheless, it is probably too early to say that we have entered the stage of lowering rates," Gref noted.