Achieving inflation target by end-2025 has become harder, but it will happen in early 2026 - Central Bank Dep Governor Zabotkin

MOSCOW. Nov 7 (Interfax) - Achieving the Central Bank of Russia's (CBR) inflation target of 4% by the end of 2025 has become harder given the increase in utility rates and the vehicle scrapping fee, but this will happen "not very late" into 2026, CBR deputy governor Alexei Zabotkin said.

"We will pursue a policy that will return inflation to the target of 4%, if not right at the end of 2025, because it has becoming harder for us to reach considering additional shocks related to the scrapping fee, with rates and so on. Not very late into 2026 we will see annual inflation of around 4%," Zabotkin said at the New Economic School's fall series of educational days.

The CBR said earlier that a tighter monetary policy will create the conditions needed to bring annual inflation back down to 4% in the first half of 2026.